


Find You In Forever

by Kayevelyn



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied Mpreg, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Soul Bond, Telepathic Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-17
Updated: 2014-10-17
Packaged: 2018-02-18 16:48:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 59,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2355533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayevelyn/pseuds/Kayevelyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is wandering through the 21st century after the Battle of New York. He had friends (if Natasha constantly trying to set him up with every beta and omega couple she can find is friendship - he thinks it is?) and a job, but he still feels lost. Maybe it's because he can still feel the loss of his Bond with Bucky and Peggy. But after meeting Sam Wilson on a run, things start looking up. And even if they do get looks for being an alpha dyad, at least he's happy. But then a new member gets assigned to his squad: codename Winter Soldier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was an adventure and a half to write, let me clue you. This fic is 110% self-indulgent and I have ZERO regrets about that. That said there was a ton of world building that went into this fic and while I'm pretty sure you can read this fic with pretty much no other introduction I did write a primer of sorts that covers some of the dynamics in this world that are in play but maybe not fully expressed in fic. You can read that [here](http://sadatelcontar.livejournal.com/57901.html) though be warned there are spoilers for a few pairings.
> 
> You can find the fanmix for this fic by the wonderful raving-liberal [here](http://raving-liberal.livejournal.com/1011465.html). I quite enjoyed it!
> 
> Finally, oh my god thank my beta evanelric forever she's not even in MCU fandom but she's been reading this over for me since August and I just love her lots <33333
> 
> Also, please note that there are some lines that I directly took from the movie. So when you spot those, yes they are from the movie.

Steve was dreaming again. It was that horrible, awful, _wonderful_ dream that he had had too many times since waking up.

The war was over, and he, Peggy, and Bucky were in a kitchen – their kitchen – getting ready for the day. He was cooking breakfast while Peggy and Bucky wrangled the twins: a girl with Peggy’s dark hair and his blue eyes, and a boy with dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and Bucky’s face. They’re too young to attend school, so they’d be with him for the day while Peggy and Bucky were out at work.

The Commandos liked to joke that he made a great stay-at-home alpha, but he didn’t mind that their family was unconventional in how it was run. Peggy and Bucky both liked working: Peggy with Howard in a new agency they created, and Bucky at the auto shop he had opened up, and he’d always been decent at housework before the war. Steve thought they were a stronger unit for the fact that they didn’t let their attributes dictate their roles.

Bucky lifted their daughter up on his shoulders, eliciting a shriek of delight while Peggy let out a sigh.

“James,” she said and Bucky gave her his best smile, responding with a, "Margaret," before vrooming off, playing the airplane their daughter steered towards the table.

He landed, making beeping noises the entire time, much to their delight of their kids. Steve traded a look with Peggy, who was trying to look stern, hiding her smile behind her hand.

The dream was lovely. Steve didn’t want it to end, wanted to stay in that impossible dream world forever where he had Peggy, and Bucky, and everything…

He didn’t jolt awake when his alarm went off, but he was suddenly pulled from the warmth the dream gave him. His eyes fluttered open and found himself looking at the bookcase he had against his wall. He shut his eyes, steeling himself as he reached over and shut off his alarm.

Out of the dream world he was acutely aware of what was missing.

The Bond.

It had been torn since Bucky fell, and completely silent since he woke up.

Steve got out of bed and went for a run.

He set off from his S.H.I.E.L.D.-issued apartment with no path in mind. He just needed to clear his head after the dream. He’d seen Peggy recently, which was what probably prompted the dream in the first place. It had before, and it would in the future. He couldn’t, _wouldn’t_ , stop seeing her. She was the only one still alive, the one connection to his past, and even though she had dementia, and it killed him to watch her forget things, he wasn’t going to give her up. They might not be Bonded anymore, but that didn’t matter. She had been one of his closest friends regardless of the Bond.

The Bond was difficult to describe to those who didn't have it yet. The dictionary defined it as "the fusing of three compatible and willing minds through intimate, emotional time together." For Steve it had meant knowing Bucky's every emotion since they were pre-teens, and soon after that being able to speak mind to mind, even full sentences over a limited distance. Bucky and him had clocked feeling the Bond at almost four thousand miles, but they’d lost the ability to speak to each other after one thousand. Bucky had always been in his mind, and then Peggy had joined him there, a warm golden glow next to Bucky's lilac presence. It had made everything easier, even in the midst of the war.

But losing the Bond...

Steve had already known about the effects losing the Bond had on a person from watching his mama, Bucky’s mama and mema, and all the other people who had lost Bondmates while he had grown up. You could tell; people had lost a part of themselves. After Bucky had fallen he'd felt like something had been ripped from him. His entire body ached until he had drowned himself in the ocean. And he'd kept hearing phantom thoughts... Delusions. No one ever mentioned those. Not even Peggy. Not even the pamphlets he had been handed once he’d woken up, and those had talked all about the Bond and the scientific studies that had been done in the past seventy years.

The pamphlets always came back to one point: creating a new Bond, like it was this great thing. Like, “hey, we know it sucks that you’re alone now, but you can be happy again with the help of someone else!” Like you could move on. As if it was that simple. Steve knew it was possible; it was something people had done even back in the past. But it wasn’t for him.

He was glad Peggy had been able to do it, that she hadn’t spent the rest of her life mourning the two of them. Steve just didn’t think he could do it. He had lived longer with the Bond than without it, after all.

Steve registered that he was getting close to the river, right by the National Mall, and he shook his head. He wasn’t going to think about the Bond anymore. He had promised himself he wouldn’t focus on that. He was going to get acclimated to his life, he was going to take in the blooming flowers and leaves that were creeping up in early April, and he was going to put all his time into his job for now. These were things he knew he could control.

He looped down to the Rock Creek Park Trails, intent on running around towards 15th street before he headed back towards his apartment. He had come to a decision after all, and so he could go home and try and relax for the rest of his mandatory vacation.

It was early, the sun just coming up, so he was surprised when he spotted someone on the trail ahead of him as he got towards the Inlet Bridge. As he passed the man Steve paused, just for a fraction of a second, because the man was attractive. It was such a weird thought for him to have; he had never really noticed anyone’s looks unless he had been intentionally set up with them (Natasha’s work. He was pretty sure she had read the pamphlets he had been given and had made it her mission to set him up with a nice beta couple so he could fully re-acclimatize).

He veered off after he crossed the bridge, running up the trail around the lake to come back to the bridge. The guy had gotten to the Jefferson Memorial in the time it took Steve to loop around, and he grinned to himself. The guy set a steady pace.

Steve slowed down just a hair as he passed the guy a second time, and he couldn’t even pretend he wasn’t checking him out as he did. The guy registered him with a raised eyebrow, seeming surprised to see him again.

The guy was probably military: tall, broad-shouldered, muscular. Steve had seen dozens of this type since coming back, though not many of them had an ass like that.

Steve shook his head.

This was ridiculous. He had never really checked someone out before, and the fact that he wanted to go back again, maybe even slow down enough to talk to the guy, was something new.

He ran along the trail towards the Reflecting Pool, trying to figure out what to do. He didn’t know the exact path the guy would take, and he definitely didn’t know how to start a conversation with him. If he ran by him one more time maybe that would be enough.

He didn’t slow down as he ran around the reflecting pool twice more, waiting to see if the guy showed up. As he was making his third lap he saw him, and this time the guy saw him. He tried for nonchalance as he ran passed him, but the guy picked up his pace, trying to chase after him.

Steve grinned, because that was a good sign, right? Maybe he should slow down? Let the guy catch him?

No, because he could hear the guy slowing down, obviously too far into his lap to sprint for very long.

But now what was he going to do? God, this was so immature, but it was fun. Steve was actually having fun, seeing this attractive guy, and… playing a chasing game with him. That was something he hadn’t done since he was a kid; hell, you rarely saw that behaviour past teenage years. It fed the primal part of people. He wondered if it was doing the same for the other guy. He hadn’t bothered to try and scent him, but built as he was there was a good chance he was also an alpha. Which made it all the more interesting that the guy had tried to partake in the game.

Steve followed a trail back down to the river, and then back towards Madison Drive, running past the museums. He didn’t see the guy, and since he had been too preoccupied to scent him he wouldn’t be able to find him again. Steve was about to hit himself in the head because _of course the guy wouldn’t be waiting for him_ , when he saw him.

He was sitting down against a tree, and Steve slowed to a stop, a grin spreading across his face. The guy gave him a glare.

“Need a medic?”

The guy laughed, his face lighting up despite his exhaustion. He _was_ attractive; dark skinned, face military clean-cut and friendly. Steve was glad he stopped.

“Think I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like thirteen miles in thirty minutes.”

Steve ducked his head, because it was definitely more than that from his apartment to here, and the guy couldn’t possibly know how much he had looped around, waiting to see him again. “Guess I got a late start.”

The guy barked out a laugh, rolling his eyes. “Yeah? You should be ashamed of yourself, then. Go take another lap.” He closed his eyes, letting Steve watch his face unobserved for just a moment; the guy was really beautiful. “Did you do it? I am going to assume you did.”

Steve shook his head as he offered the guy a hand, pulling him to his feet. “Steve Rogers.”

“Kinda figured. I’m Sam Wilson.”

“What unit are you?”

“58th Pararescue, but now I’m working down at the VA.” Steve nodded, knowing he couldn’t say what he did for work, although he knew there were a bunch of conspiracy theories about it. He didn’t step away though, wanting to stay engaged in the conversation with Sam. “Must have freaked you out, coming home after the whole defrosting thing.”

Steve felt his face fall. He knew this would happen. It always did. He should’ve known better than to stop and try to talk to someone. Everyone always saw the man out of time first, and always wanted to talk about it. He didn’t know why a guy with an attractive face would be any different.

He took a step back, even though he hadn’t wanted to. “Takes some getting used to. It was nice meeting you, Sam.” That was a lame way to end the conversation, but he needed to say something before he took off running.

“It’s your bed, isn’t it?”

Steve paused, because he wasn’t expecting Sam to chase after him, especially with something as nonsensical as that.

“It’s why you can’t sleep. When I was on tour I got used to sleeping on the ground, using rocks for pillows. And when I got home, couldn’t sleep. Too soft.”

“Like sleeping on a marshmallow, yeah.” Steve relaxed just a fraction. “It get any better?”

Sam grinned. “Had to buy a whole new mattress. Firmest one I could find, but it got better.”

“I’ll have to look into doing that. How long were you over there?” Because that was how conversation worked, he reminded himself. And he did want to talk to Sam.

“Two tours.” Sam shrugged, body language open and non-threatening, even as he crossed his arms. It was strange that he could pull that off. “You must miss the good old days.”

Steve let out a huff, because while it wasn’t the exact same sentiment as before, it was still close enough. But people always had idle curiosity and Sam didn’t seem to be malicious about it. He was probably just trying to find something to talk about, the same as Steve. “Well, the food’s a lot better; we used to boil everything. No polio’s good. Internet! So helpful. Been reading that a lot, trying to catch up.”

He watched with inner awe as Sam’s face shifted. He was surprised, not expecting those answers, and Steve was glad that at the very least he wasn’t offended by what he knew was a sarcastic tone.

“Marvin Gaye, 1972, Troubleman soundtrack.” And that – that was a suggestion. It wasn’t the reaction Steve was expecting either. Usually he got vague guilt over people realizing they might have come off as condescending. This was one of the first times someone had just rolled with it, as if it was normal. “Everything you’ve missed on one album.”

Steve reached into his pocket, pulling out the notebook he carried around to keep track of things he needed to look up. He’d stopped feeling ashamed about the notebook a few months ago. Clint screaming at him in the middle of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s gym that he was a blight on humanity for not seeing Star Wars _OR_ Star Trek did that to a man.

When Steve finished writing it down he looked up, eyeing Sam up and down. “What time do you have to go into work?”

“First meeting is at nine, so I’ve got time? What about you?”

“Mandatory vacation. I get a week off every nine months, barring national disasters.”

“That’s good. You’re staying in the city?”

“Got nowhere else to go.” Before Sam could respond, trying to backtrack, Steve spoke up. Finally asking what he had wanted to since spotting Sam running. “Do you want to get some breakfast?”

Sam looked at him, smile turning into something deeper. “Is that an invitation for what I think it is?”

Steve hoped his blush wasn’t that obvious. He was just glad Sam seemed to be on the same page as him. “It could be.”

“Cause you know, when you put on that wholesome 1940s charm I can’t tell if you’re just being friendly or not.”

“I’m always friendly.” The sentence was out before Steve could think to censor his snark.

“But you’re also being something more.” Steve didn’t have a response for that, so he just stood there, smiling. He had been told his smile did things to people, and the way Sam let out a breath told him that Sam wasn’t unaffected. “How about this? I’ll go to breakfast with you, if you come over to my place tonight and listen to that album with me.”

This was good. This was what he had wanted, and he found himself standing there next to Sam, both of them grinning like idiots. “I guess I could do that. You able to walk? I know a diner a few blocks from here.”

Sam snorted. “Human blocks or crazy,” his eyes raked up and down Steve’s body, leaving him feeling warm, “you-length blocks?”

“Guess you’ll just have to trust me to find out.” Steve gave Sam his most winning grin and Sam rolled his eyes.

“If I die I want the whole world to know it was on you. Like, I want CNN to do a whole investigation about it. 24/7 coverage. _Vet tries to be nice to 90-year-old vet and gets walked to death for his troubles._ And then there better be a made-for-television movie about it. Acceptable titles include _The Mall March_ , _Handsome Sam_ , _Steve: The Destroyer_.”

Steve couldn’t stop himself from laughing as they started off towards the diner he went to sometimes. “I’ll make sure that happens if you die.”

Sam was able to keep pace with him just fine, however, and he didn’t even seem out of breath as they settled into a companionable silence.

The diner was really about seven blocks from where they had been, which Steve thought was reasonable to fall under “a few” blocks, but Sam obviously had different ideas because he started good-naturedly whining after five blocks. As they crossed the final street to get to the diner Steve offered to carry Sam the rest of the way, but Sam just laughed, saying he could manage it.

They were still chuckling with each other when Steve opened the door for Sam, letting him go through first. He was glad that there wasn’t that awkward pause he usually got with other alphas at S.H.I.E.L.D., where they didn’t want to walk through first like they were a beta or an omega. Sam, despite his previous attitude of taking charge and making the plans, let Steve talk to the host and get their table.

They were tucked into a triad’s booth, a small square table surrounded on three sides with boothed seats. They left the middle seat open as they sat across from one another to better continue their conversation. Steve only needed a moment to look over the menu, and Sam was just as quick deciding what he wanted, so soon they were left alone with a cup of coffee for Sam, and water for Steve.

“So. Tell me about yourself,” Sam said, opening the conversation back up.

Steve shrugged. “Not much to tell. I hear you get my whole life story by middle school.”

Sam made a face of vague disagreement. “If you think a unit from history class in middle school is all we get about World War II you are sorely mistaken. I definitely didn’t get your full story until AP History in high school, but they tried to pass it off as the whole story every time they taught it. But that’s not what I meant. I meant tell me about you, Steve Rogers.”

Steve shook his head. He wasn’t trying to be deflective, just stating the truth. “Everything you wanna know you can find in a book.”

“Tell me something I wouldn’t find in one of those books, then.”

Steve thought, because he _was_ right. Every thing there was to know about Steve was public knowledge. His favorite foods had been put into a recipe book back during the war. _Cook for America: Captain America’s Favorite Recipes!_. It had become a staple in American cuisine.

The only thing that had ever felt private was the Bond, and even that had been taken from him. Studies in the 60s had used interviews with Peggy and the other Commandos to show that Alphas and Omegas could form a Bond if they were compatible enough. It was groundbreaking stuff: highlighting the fact that Bucky had said he felt Steve even when he was doing his tour alone, and that Steve had known Bucky was alive – that the whole 107th was still alive after being captured by Hydra. Those had been private during the war. Just for him.

Peggy and the Commandos hadn’t meant any harm by it, of course. They had no way of knowing Steve would come back, but it was just one more thing he didn’t get to keep as a secret.

“Spinach. I hate spinach.”

Sam’s face twisted, his eyes lit up with amusement. “So I take it you didn’t go all Popeye on the world-“ he frowned. “You do get that reference, right?”

Steve snorted, pulling his arms back to make room for their plates. Diner food was always quick, after all. He waited until the waitress had left to answer. “I grew up reading the comics. Part of the reason I can’t stand spinach.”

“Ate too much as a kid?”

Steve made a face. “Straight out of the can, too. It was about as gross as you’re thinking.”

Sam shook his head as he grabbed bacon. “Don’t you ruin my omelette.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

He felt the press of Sam’s knee against his, and he looked up. Sam was grinning a Cheshire cat grin. “You said you boiled everything growing up. Take it you’ve been eating your way through the world’s offerings now? Diner food being, of course, a staple of American cuisine.”

“We had diners back then. But I am trying to, yeah. Never know where to start. Usually I just take recommendations and go from there.”

Sam laid his hand on Steve’s wrist. “Stick with me and you’ll never go hungry again.”

“I don’t go hungry now,” Steve said with a faint smile.

Sam laughed as he squeezed Steve’s wrist, letting go. “I’ll remember that.”

“I just missed a reference, didn’t I? I’m very familiar with that look.” Steve didn’t reach for his notebook though, as Sam shook his head.

“You did, but it’s nothing _super huge_. And until you start spending time around a lot of kids you won’t need that reference.”

“Do you spend a lot of time around kids?” Sam shrugged, eyes downcast. He didn’t want to talk about it, and since it was the first topic Sam didn’t seem to like Steve switched back to the comfortable topic of food. “I’ve probably tried a lot more exotic stuff than you’d believe.”

Sam looked up, his smile coming back. “Oh, really?”

“I like Middle Eastern food.”

“Really? Wow, would not have expected that. When the hell did you eat Middle Eastern food? And what did you eat?”

“It was shawarma,” Steve said with a laugh. “And you remember the Battle of New York?”

Sam nodded. “What, you super heroes just took a break?”

“No. It was after. Tony wanted to try it, and they were open.” He shrugged. “It was good.”

“You had chicken, didn’t you?”

“I think it was lamb. I don’t remember. Pretty sure Clint ordered.”

“Well, well, you’re just full of surprises.” Sam was looking at him with a twinkle in his eye, like he had just found something delightful. “I got just the place we can go to for dinner.”

Steve laughed, cutting off a bite of pancake. “Not even done with breakfast and already planning the next date?”

“Damn right I am. You just gave me an idea. There’s an Indian restaurant I like, and I think you will too. We’ll go there.”

This is what Steve had been missing in those not-dates with all those betas. He was used to Bucky and Peggy making all the decisions, telling him what they were going to do, and expecting him to just go along with it. The betas he had gone on dates with all deferred to him, thinking he would be a big, brash alpha. That had never been him, though. He liked hearing other people’s ideas, and liked doing what other people wanted to do.

“Sounds good to me.” He pulled out his phone and handed it over to Sam. He felt the press of Sam’s knee against his thigh again and he smiled, brushing their fingers together when Sam took the phone.

“You can pick me up from my work.” When Steve just nodded Sam continued. “You’re easy, aren’t you?”

“I like taking orders.”

Sam laughed. “Now why don’t I believe that?” Steve quirked an eyebrow and Sam just shook his head as he handed Steve his phone back, number entered. “I think you only like taking orders you agree with.”

“Ah, you caught me.”

“Well I’m glad you’ve liked everything I’ve said so far.”

“What can I say, you seem like a good guy.”

Sam gave him a smile that stopped Steve’s heart as they finished their breakfast with more low-key conversation. It wasn’t until Steve was waving goodbye to Sam, who was bitching that he wasn’t sure he would make it home in time to change, that he realized he hadn’t gotten any personal details off of Sam aside from what he did for work.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve found Sam’s workplace easily enough. He hadn’t been to the VA personally, though his shrink had recommended it. As had Tony (on the suggestion of Rhodey; he had been very, very clear about that). He lingered in the hallway, not brave enough to go near the door where he could hear Sam wrapping up his final session.

The receptionist was a pretty beta; dark skinned, short, with her brown hair relaxed and cut into an asymmetrical bob; who kept cutting looks towards him as he looked at the flyers tacked on the wall.

“May I help you?” She finally said, and Steve looked towards her.

“Just waiting for Sam.”

She nodded, and it hid the way her face fell. Steve thought that Sam might be strictly into alphas, what with him being deflective about his life, and the aversion to talking about children, and this added another check in that column. Steve didn’t know what kind of discrimination there was against queers now-a-days. Everything he had read about queer rights from the last seventy years pointed towards to acceptance, though they rarely if ever talked about queer alphas.

Steve didn’t want to pry too much, or jump to too many conclusions. He liked Sam, and wanted to learn more about him from his own mouth. He could wait the time it took to figure that out.

People began to filter out of the room Sam was in, but Steve waited by the bulletin board until he saw Sam come out. He had made it home, and been able to change. And Steve was glad he had, because Sam looked good in the pair of khakis and tight polo shirt he had put on. The soft looking brown leather jacket he had thrown over his shoulder since nights still got chilly only added to the picture that Sam made, and Steve was looking forward to putting his hands on it – under it.

The way Sam was dressed also made Steve feel less underdressed, since he had only thrown on a pair of good jeans and a casual button-up over a t-shirt. He hadn’t been sure how fancy Indian food was supposed to be, since the only time he had had it was the last time he was in New York almost a year and a half ago. Bruce had made some for everyone -- minus Tony, who had been in Malibu -- but still let them all stay at the Tower.

Sam walked up to him and Steve didn’t know how exactly he should greet him, so he tried to take cues from Sam, even if it that meant standing awkwardly until Sam asked, “you mind if I drive?”

“Figure you’re the one who knows the way.” Steve didn’t bother to mention that he had walked the couple of miles from his place to the VA to burn off energy, so he didn’t have a car.

“Excellent.” Sam finished putting on his jacket, and it stretched across his shoulders nicely, defining them. “My ride’s out back.”

The car ride to the restaurant was comfortable, if a little quiet. Sam had the radio playing, a station that seemed more sports news-based than music-based, and Steve let that fill the silence instead of trying to do it himself. There would be more time to talk once they had dinner, and god forbid they ran out of things to talk about before they got to dinner.

Maybe they should have gone to a movie first. But then again no, because Steve didn’t really think there was anything playing right now that he would be interested in seeing, and if they did find something to talk about then Steve didn't want to have missed two hours of getting to know one another.

The restaurant was casual, and smelled amazing. Steve was immediately reminded of Bruce’s cooking and it was a good feeling. He didn’t remember what Bruce had made; it had been more of a “don’t ask, just trust me” kind of night, which is what most nights with his fellow Avengers were like. That meant that Steve had no idea where to start with the menu. He stared at it, trying to figure out what looked like it was closest to something he had had before.

“Need any help?” Sam asked.

“I’m just trying to remember what I’ve had before.” Steve could see Sam’s eyebrow rise in surprise. “I’ve only had home-cooked Indian food. And I didn’t get to find out what it was; I was just told to eat it.”

“I’m sensing a pattern here,” Sam drawled.

“It was Bruce who cooked.” Steve said, as if that explained everything. At Sam’s blank face Steve realized that Bruce’s identity wasn’t commonly known, for the best. “Uh – Hulk.” Steve dropped his voice when he said that. “He’s traveled a lot, and last time I was in New York with the other Avengers we met up and he made dinner. Easier than going out and getting recognized.”

Sam was giving him this contemplative look, and Steve didn’t know what to think of it until Sam spoke. “Sorry, it’s just, hearing you talk about people I’ve seen only on the news is a little surreal. But you guys must meet up like any regular colleagues.”

“Something like that. I see Nat and Clint the most; they’re Black Widow and Hawkeye, since we work in the same,” he made a little gesture trying to convey _top secret spy organization_ , “place? Tony and Bruce live up in New York most of the time, so I haven’t seen them that much.” He was cut off when the waitress showed up, and Steve realized he still hadn’t figured out what he wanted to eat. He closed the menu and nodded to Sam. “How about you order for me?”

Sam nodded, and he ordered a slew of food that Steve could only trust would taste good.

Then the awkward silence drifted over them. This was definitely a date. Not that breakfast wasn’t, but that had been less formal. More of trying to find out if they were after the same thing. Now that they seemed to think they were, they were actually on a date. And Steve wanted to do more than talk about himself.

“So is this the point where we tell each other about our days?” Sam asked with a teasing grin, reaching over and playing with Steve’s fingers.

Steve couldn’t help but return the smile as he stretched his arm out a little more so Sam had more of his hand to play with. “Didn’t do much. Went home. Showered.”

“Tell me all about that.” Sam said, leaning forward like Steve showering was the most interesting thing in the world.

Steve waited a beat before he said, “it was wet.”

“Was it? That is fascinating. When I took my own shower it was wet, too. Who would have thought?” Sam kept playing with Steve’s hands, tracing his fingers up and down his palm. It was relaxing and Steve only flexed his fingers to return the favor. “First dates are awful, aren’t they?”

“Haven’t been on many. But yeah, they are looking like it.”

“What? You’re telling me you didn’t immediately jump back into the dating scene once you were clear for human contact?”

“Surprisingly hard to find someone who catches my eye.”

Sam ducked his head. He definitely had heard what Steve wasn’t saying. He looked back up once he seemed to have any blush under control. “So my day was good, thank you for asking. So what do you do for fun, Steven?”

Steve laughed. “Work.” Sam raised an eyebrow and Steve grinned. “No, really. I work. I mean. I guess I walk around a lot. See the world. Do research. That sort of thing.”

“Still trying to acclimate to the 21st century?”

“Don’t think I’ll ever stop.” Steve took a breath, because the tone had dropped again. It was like navigating a minefield. They would start up a rhythm only to have it derailed moments later. Steve squeezed Sam’s fingers. “What about you? What do you do for fun?”

“I knit.”

“Knit?”

Sam made a face, but it wasn’t bad, just disgruntled. “That’s what I said. My mema taught me, to give me something to distract me. I was super hyperactive as a kid, had all this energy. So she used it as a way for me to keep still. Not so useful in Afghanistan, except in the winter and at night, but I always knew what to give people for holidays. And births! Every time a niece or nephew is born – BAM! Blanket!”

“Do you come from a big family?” This seemed like an olive branch to make up for the lack of any details from breakfast.

“Yeah, there’s ten of us kids.”

“Ten? Wow.”

Sam shrugged. “It’s not that bad. My moms are a beta triad, and my dads are also a beta triad. So the only way they could have kids…” he trailed off with an exaggerated eyebrow waggle.

Steve nodded. “But the six of them never Bonded?”

Sam gave Steve a look that he couldn’t quite pin. It was a mix of impressed and skeptical. “Nah, they aren’t that freaky. They lived next door to each other – not in a two family home, but actually like two different houses – because they weren’t a unit, but we were all still a family, and growing up we kids kinda just floated between houses. The age difference wasn't too bad. I’m from a set of quadruplets; all three of my moms got pregnant at the same time, which I hear was hilarious. Almost drove papa to an early grave. My older sisters are twins, and the babies are another two sets of twins. It’s all very modern.”

Steve laughed. “You say that like the future invented units.”

Sam was grinning. “You’re trying to tell me in the past everyone wasn’t A-B-O’d out?”

“Would it shock you if I did?” Sam made a _go on_ gesture as the waitress came out and Steve waited as appetizers were put on the table, before he continued. “At least where I grew up family units were very fluid. Might have been ‘cause we were poor, but you took care of who you could. My mom was single, since both my dads died in the war, but Bucky’s mama and mema took her – and me – in after Bucky’s dad died. They were both omegas, and my mom’s a beta. They never Bonded, just cohabited. There was an alpha who stayed on our apartment floor, but he was… queer.” Steve paused, not sure if that was the proper term to use, but when Sam only nodded he continued, “He only liked other alphas. But he took care of every family on our floor. May surprise you, but growing up the Bond wasn’t that big of a deal. Like, people had it, but it was just a part of life. You got close with someone and the Bond formed and it made it easier to live your life because you were aware of what your partner needed.” Steve’s own experiences had been different with the Bond, but he didn’t want to talk about that.

“As opposed to being the romantic ideal it is now.” Sam didn’t sound like he had any strong feelings about that statement, so Steve couldn’t tell where he fell on the idea of being Bonded.

“I suppose. I don’t really know any Bonded pairs in this time.” Sam looked like he didn’t believe him. “Work doesn’t expressly forbid it, but it would be a disadvantage.” This line of thought was getting into dangerous territory, especially because Steve didn’t know Sam’s experiences with Bonds. He assumed he had never Bonded, because he’s young, like Steve, and you don’t go and break something like that so quickly, but then again he’d served in a war. He could have been, and one of his Bonded died. Steve sucked in a breath through his nose. “I just know Tony, and I don’t think he counts since I’ve never seen him actually interact with his Bond mates,” he let the conversation dip after he said that and Sam had no response, so he took a bite of their appetizer. “This is really good.”

“Do you miss it?” Sam asked, ignoring his attempt to change the topic.

Steve sighed. “Every day. But they tell me it’ll get better. And Peggy – I’m not sure what, if anything, you’ve read or know – she moved on eventually. Took about six years for everything to resettle for Peggy.” He leaned back, looking at Sam, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to. “I don’t know if I can Bond again, let alone want to. I was Bonded to Bucky for almost fifteen years – the moment we both hit puberty, pretty much. So I don’t want you to think that I’m going into this with any expectations. I just saw you running, and I thought you were attractive, and so I wanted to learn more about you, and the more I learn about you the more I like and want to know more.”

Whatever Sam’s reaction, it was cut off by dinner arriving. They hadn't even really dug into the appetizers because they had been too busy talking, so the waitress left the plates for the appetizers on the table, and they had to really push the dishes around to make sure they all fit on the small triad table. The plates were still hot, so they couldn’t start on the main course anyway. Instead Steve took a couple more bites of the appetizer, which, change of topic aside, was very delicious.

Sam took his own bites, and they lapsed into a few minutes of quiet.

“Man, I am awful at first dates,” Sam finally said, leaning back.

Steve shook his head. “I think everyone is. There’s a rule about first dates being terrible, right?”

“Modern society would tell me that is a truth.”

“I’ve watched a couple movies- I think Clint calls them _rom-coms_? They usually start off with bad dates.”

“Tell me what else is on that list of yours. And here, try this, I think you’ll like it.”

Steve grinned as Sam put something bright red on his dish. It looked like chicken with some kind of sauce over it.

They filled the rest of the evening with talk about movies, especially Star Wars, because Sam was – quote – a hero’s journey type of guy, not a socio-political type of guy. He got a laugh out of the fact that apparently most of the Avengers were Star Trek fans, with Clint being the lone Star Wars nut in the group.

Sam paid for dinner, saying it was only fair after he had let Steve pay for breakfast. They left the restaurant still talking, and Steve was feeling light, pleased with how the night had gone. It was the first date he had had, pretty much ever, that hadn’t ended badly, and that made him feel good.

They walked back to Sam’s car, and Steve wondered for a moment if he should ask if they were going back to Sam’s. Dinner had gone well, after all.

Sam turned to him as they reached his car, instead of going to the driver’s side door. “So you gonna come home with me?”

Steve looked Sam up and down, grin spreading across his face. “Yeah. I could do that.”

“Oh, could you?”

“I think so. I mean, that was the deal, wasn’t it? You come out to breakfast with me, and I come home with you?” Steve took a step closer to Sam, placing a hand on his hip.

Sam leaned into him. They were almost the same height, even though Steve was just a little broader. Still, Sam fit against him nicely, and it was easy to close the gap for a quick kiss. Sam didn’t let it end at one kiss. He pulled Steve in for another, turning them, until Steve found himself leaning against the passenger side door of Sam’s car making out with him.

It was nice, and familiar, having the press of someone solid against him, and he was sad to feel it disappear when Sam pulled away.

“Come on, my place isn’t that far.”

Steve nodded as he got into the car, and he found himself holding Sam’s hand for most of the ride back to his place.

Sam’s place was nice and comfortable, very lived in. It was a little small, or maybe it was that the living room was crowded with more seating space than it probably should have been. The color scheme seemed to fit Sam, too: neutral furniture and splashes of colors on the wall.

“You want anything to drink?” Sam asked as Steve lingered in the living room, looking at the pictures on the wall. Sam hadn’t been lying when he said he had a big family; one wall was plastered with pictures of various people who were obviously important to him.

Music started to play, and Steve turned around, grinning. “Troubleman?”

“Good, right?” Sam asked, coming up to him.

“Not disliking it so far.”

“Of course not. This right here is amazingness.” He reached out and grabbed Steve’s hand, pulling him closer.

Steve went, allowing Sam to wrap his right arm around his waist as he positioned them to start dancing. He grinned despite himself. “Is this dancing music?”

“All music is dancing music.” Sam’s hand was warm on Steve’s back. Steve tucked his head into Sam’s shoulder, breathing him in.

“Sorry if I step on your toes.”

“I think I’ll be able to forgive you. Though it might help if you just keep your feet planted on the ground. We can start with just swaying, how is that?”

Steve nodded against Sam’s neck, trying to stop his feet from shuffling as Sam led them in swaying back and forth to the rhythm of the music.

It was easy, slow dancing like this. Even as the song changed, Sam kept them swaying back and forth, and Steve liked it. He tilted his head to the side, and that seemed to be the only invitation Sam needed to pick up where they had left off against the car.

Steve didn’t care that the kisses were needy from the start, rough, with too much tongue and teeth. He wanted it that way, and from the way Sam was panting against his mouth he was pretty sure Sam wanted it, too.

He let his hands wander up and down Sam’s back, squeezing his shoulders at the same time he felt Sam’s hands return the favor. His body felt like it was slowly being set on fire, and while it was weird to only have one set of hands on him, and to not feel Sam’s enjoyment thrumming in his own head, it was still enjoyable.

Sam broke the kiss, and Steve moved down the column of his throat, biting and licking, trying to leave a mark, after the first sharp nip was received with an arch of Sam’s hips.

“Fuck,” Sam whispered, as Steve moved back up to his mouth, his hands tugging at the hem of Sam’s polo.

He hissed when he felt Sam’s hands on his body, because he was warm, and Sam’s hands were a little cold, and it felt so good. He helped shrug off his button up, and then they both stopped for a moment to remove their own shirts. They stared at one another for a moment, panting overlaying the sound of the music.

“We should stop,” Steve said, breathless.

Sam looked at him. “Yeah. Moving too fast.”

Steve lunged for him, but Sam was braced for it as they resumed making out, hands exploring the newly exposed skin.

It didn’t take very long for Sam’s hands to slide down and undo Steve’s belt.

He shimmied his hips, helping the pants to fall down so he could step out of them. He was hard in his boxers, and he knew Sam could feel it from the way he gasped. He dropped his hands to Sam’s waist, trying to get him out of his pants.

They stumbled Sam out of his pants, and onto the couch, Sam in between Steve’s thighs. He rolled his hips up, feeling the friction of their cocks sliding against one another through his boxers. He pushed at Sam’s boxers, whining when it took a bit too long to get them off.

“Someone’s impatient,” Sam panted against his lips.

“Want you in me,” Steve said, pulling back just enough to fully see what he was doing when he pulled Sam’s pants down. When he was done with that he turned to go back to kissing Sam, hand reaching for his cock, but the look on Sam’s face stopped him.

“You’ve bottomed before?” Sam asked, leaning back on his knees.

“Yeah. Do you really want to hear about it now?”

“No. Not really.” Sam’s hands were warm on his thighs, which he was still sitting between. “You wanna move this to the bedroom?”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “I think the couch is fine for the first round, don’t you?”

Sam let out a choked laugh as he pulled Steve in for a kiss. “Yeah, yeah, that’s a good idea. God, you’re amazing.”

When they broke the kiss Steve moved back, spreading his legs some more. “Not gonna lie, it’s been about seventy years, and I’ve never taken an alpha cock, so, you know, a little prep won’t hurt.”

Sam laughed. “Nah, I’ll just shove it in and knot you like a bitch.”

“You say that to all the alphas you bring home?”

“Now I know _you_ don’t want to hear about that in the bedroom.” Sam was right. The thought of Sam with others made Steve’s hackles rise. “Roll over for me.”

Steve did as he was asked while Sam stood up and went away, presumably to get some supplies. Steve may never have had alpha sex before, but he’d bottomed before. Prior to the serum it was his and Bucky’s preferred way of fucking, since he hadn’t been able to knot unless Bucky was in heat.

And he honestly enjoyed it, even if his body wasn’t built for getting fucked like a woman’s or an omega’s might have been.

Steve breathed into the pillow, pushing any thoughts of his past from his mind. Not the time or place.

Sam returned after a moment, and Steve heard a bottle uncap, felt Sam’s cool hand on his hip, moving him into position.

The first touch was surprisingly warm, and he moaned as he felt Sam’s lubed finger press against his hole. He may not have done this in a long while, but his body opened up soon enough, letting Sam fuck first one finger, and then a second, into him.

Steve moaned, enjoying the feeling of being full once again. Sam was a good size too, thick in a way most alphas were, and the idea of that cock being inside him made his mouth dry up and then start watering.

He pushed his hips back against Sam’s fingers, despite Sam’s other hand trying to hold him still. Sam growled, but it didn’t sound vicious. Just like he was enjoying the challenge to his authority.

“God, I’d love to knot you,” Sam whispered as he pulled his fingers out.

He knew Sam wouldn’t be able to knot without an omega present, but the thought still took his breath away. “I could take it.”

Sam practically _purred_ as his hands cupped Steve’s ass, spreading him apart. “You could, couldn’t you?”

Steve nodded, at a loss for words as he felt the tip of Sam’s cock press against his hole. He let out an embarrassing whine as Sam started to push in, and he gripped at the couch cushion.

Sam whispered comforting words in his ear as he leaned over him, pushing his cock in the whole way with one fluid thrust.

“You are amazing,” Sam said, kissing at the back of Steve’s neck, before he reared up, hands on Steve’s hips to steady himself. “Gonna fuck you so good.”

Steve let out an embarrassing sound as Sam started up a brutal pace, hands gripping Steve’s hips hard enough to bruise. It was wonderful. Steve tried for a moment to push back. He knew he could find leverage, he wasn’t helpless, but he wasn’t going to. It was too much fun to feel Sam use him like this.

His hand dropped to his cock, fisting it as he matched the pace Sam was going at. He closed his eyes, imagining fucking into someone else, how it would feel to have a third here with them. A beta – it would have to be a beta. Steve couldn’t handle replacing Bucky, so he didn’t even want to fantasize about trying.

But a beta. That could work.

If Sam wanted that. If they did this more than once.

Steve hoped they did this more than once, because it was incredible.

Sam grabbed him by the hair, tugging him up, and Steve went, groaning at the change. His hand kept moving, working him up to orgasm, and then through it, right before Sam groaned, pushing Steve down as he came.

Sam had used a condom, Steve realized finally, when he didn’t feel the rush of come inside himself. He was both pleased and disappointed, and he was trying to think of the best way to say they didn’t need to use them if Sam was okay with that, because of the serum. That might be a little too personal for the first night, though.

He collapsed back onto the couch, not even bothering to steady himself with his arms.

“Now I think we’re gonna need to move into the bedroom,” Sam muttered, even as he settled back into the couch, pressed against Steve.

“Give it a moment,” Steve said, twisting so he could kiss Sam.

“You good to stay ‘til morning?”

“Yeah. We can go for a run.”

“Man, fuck you.” Steve choked on a laugh. “I _will_ fuck you until you can’t walk. Got one of those knotting dildos around here somewhere.”

Steve snorted. “Unless it’s Stark made apparently it won’t be that good.”

“You know from experience?”

“Tony is very proud of his inventions. Even the ones he doesn’t sell to the masses.” Steve settled into the warmth of Sam’s arms. “I promise to run at your pace tomorrow.”

“We are not running. But if you want exercise, I’ll fuck you again. Slower this time, so you burn more calories.”

“You’re such a good friend,” Steve said, closing his eyes, and starting to drift.

Steve woke up in Sam’s bed. They had managed to make it there after a second round on the couch that involved one of the best blowjobs Steve had ever received, which had led into round 3. Sam wasn’t there though, which took Steve a moment to register. He could hear pots and pans hitting against one another, which led him to realize Sam was in the kitchen.

Steve sat up, stretching. He wasn’t sore, which was a side-effect of the serum. Before his chronic sickness put him in so much pain that he hadn't been able to enjoy the pleasurable soreness that came after a night of making love – and after he didn’t even have a chance to notice it because of his shortened recovery period, but he imagined that if he could feel it, he’d be feeling it in spades.

He climbed out of bed, padding naked out into the kitchen. His clothes were still probably in a pile in the living room where they had stripped them off.

Steve rubbed his hands through his hair as he saw Sam standing in a pair of low slung pajama pants, and nothing else, in front of his stove, making breakfast.

“I figured eggs and sausage for breakfast? I have a waffle maker, too,” he said as he turned to Steve, eyebrows raising appraisingly. “Well, that’s a nice sight.”

Steve blushed, not exactly posing as he leaned against the doorway of the kitchen. “I take it you don’t want me to put on my pants?”

“Actually, you can’t,” Sam said, nodding towards a door in the kitchen. “I threw your clothes in the wash. Figured you’d like some clean clothes. You can borrow a pair of pants if you want. And I think there’s an unopened package of underwear in the linen closet.” Steve arched an eyebrow. “Perks of having a large family. Relatives visit and forget their shit at home all the time, so I make sure to have extras. My baby brother is notorious about it. There should be an extra toothbrush in the bottom left drawer in the bathroom too.”

Steve grinned. “No morning kiss?”

“Not unless that super serum of yours cures morning breath.”

Steve raised his hands in surrender. “You said bottom left?”

“Yeah. You want fruit on your waffles?” Sam asked as Steve walked back towards the bathroom.

He opened the drawer to see a mass of still packaged toothbrushes, mostly children’s, and almost exclusively Iron Man. He grabbed one, a pink Iron Man toothbrush with flowers, and walked back out to the kitchen. “Uhmmm, starting a collection?”

Sam turned away from the waffle maker, and Steve watched as it took a moment for Sam to register what he was looking at. He cracked a smile. “I did say I had extras.”

“This is a little excessive, not going to lie,” Steve said, looking at the toothbrush.

“Niblings*. Like I said, perks of having a large family. The kids can’t pack any better than the adults.”

“How many do you have?”

Sam honest to god stopped, put the bowl of batter down and pulled out his hands to count. “Nine. Jayden is six? He’s the oldest. They’re starting to blur together, though.” He grinned as he picked up the bowl again. “And that’s only from four of my siblings. I am terrified to know how many I’ll have after all of them are done popping out babies.” Steve could tell that the idea completely delighted Sam, and it felt like such an intimate moment to be observing considering how distant Sam had seemed just yesterday. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you need to brush your teeth, though,” Sam said, going back to the waffle maker.

“You caught me,” Steve said, heading back to the bathroom.

He brushed his teeth with one of the actual adult toothbrushes that were buried in the drawer, and then found the package of underwear Sam had mentioned, pulling a pair on, and then a pair of Sam’s pants.

By the time he had gotten ready Sam was serving their breakfast, and the sun was peeking through the kitchen window. A nice relaxed feeling settled over them as they ate.

“You’re heading into work around nine, right?”

Sam nodded. “Your clothes will be done by then. I switched them to the dryer.”

“They better be. Pretty sure it hasn’t become legal to walk home naked.” He shot Sam a grin. “Or would you be keeping me here?”

“Steve Rogers, my kept boy? I could see that working. Not like you’ll be missed for, what? You said you had the week off, right?”

“Dinner tonight, then? I can make some mean boiled chicken.”

Sam snorted. “How about _I_ cook, and if you are so inclined, you can chop the vegetables?”

“It’s a date, then?”

Sam put down his plate. He gave Steve a long look, arms crossed over his chest as he seemed to think things over. “Do you want it to be?”

“I think I do.” Steve shrugged. “I want to try at least.”

Sam looked at Steve, and smiled a little, grabbing his plate to finish eating. “So, dinner? Here? I’ll make some of my pop’s stew. And like I said, you can cut the vegetables.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Niblings is the gender neutral term for niece or nephew


	3. Chapter 3

“You look refreshed. Have a good vacation?” Natasha asked as she sat down next to him in the alpha changing room.

Steve glanced at her from where he was tying his shoes. He had gotten to the Triskelion early, since Sam’s apartment was closer than his own. He hadn’t meant to spend the night Sunday as well, but it had happened and he wasn’t regretting it. “Yeah. Yeah, I did.”

She leaned over, grinning conspicuously. “Meet anyone nice?”

“Does S.H.I.E.L.D. need to know?”

Natasha looked contemplative. “S.H.I.E.L.D. would only need to know if you become Bonded, since there would be a chance of secrets being leaked.”

“Well, there are no worries there. It’s just one, and he’s an alpha.”

“Kinky,” Natasha was looking him up and down. “Never would have pegged that as your type. No wonder you kept rejecting the betas.”

“I kept rejecting them because I wasn’t interested.”

Natasha grinned. “But he interested you. Where did you meet? Was it one of those online sites?”

“No. I’m not even on those.”

“Huh, you mean Stark never set you up on one? That’s strange.”

Steve paused. “No.” He drew out the word. “Stark never did.” He took in Natasha’s sceptical look. “To my knowledge.”

“Oh, you’d know if he did.” Natasha said with a wave of her hand. “You’d have gotten so many messages you wouldn’t know what to do with them.”

“Who got messages? Did our boy Cap finally sign up for a dating site?” Clint said as he dropped down on the other side of Steve with a big grin.

He wasn’t an alpha, so he probably had a locker in the beta’s changing room, but he never used it. He kept most of his gear in Natasha’s locker.

“He apparently never has.”

“Not even cause of Stark?” Clint narrowed his eyes. “I find that hard to believe. Stark even got me signed up, _and_ he got my preferences all wrong so I’m constantly getting messages from male alphas telling me they’ll breed me.” He gave an exaggerated shudder.

Natasha snorted, as Steve quirked an eyebrow. “He put you down as an omega?”

“Nah. It’s just a kink some people have. _Not me_ ,” Clint was quick to clear up. “I would much prefer a pretty alpha woman who lets me worship her before she has her way with me.” He winked at Natasha, who rolled her eyes.

Steve shook his head and stood up. He knew the two of them were semi-exclusive, in a dyad, which was different. Clint had told him that it was to prevent the Bond from ever forming, and considering what Natasha had said about S.H.I.E.L.D. needing to know if he did Bond, he could see why they would do that, on top of the dangers of being Bonded in their line of work.

“I’ll meet you guys in the gym?”

“You like getting your ass shot at that much, Rogers?” Clint asked, standing up.

“I think he likes _something_ shot in his ass,” Natasha muttered, and Steve stared at her for a moment (because that innuendo was _awful_ ) as Clint’s face twisted to delight.

“I _knew it_ , you hooked up with someone!”

Steve rolled his eyes, and turned away, walking towards the door. A week was too early in his relationship with Sam to deal with their friendly teasing. He knew it came from a good place, but maybe he was still more old fashioned than he thought. Relationships were private – even his relationship with Bucky and Peggy had been private, something the other Commandos hadn’t openly teased them about, even though they were more than willing to tease each other.

Just as he got to the door of the changing room it opened, revealing Brock Rumlow. Steve arched his eyebrow, because if Rumlow was here that meant there was a mission. He was not disappointed.

“Suit up,” Rumlow said. “We’ll brief you on the plane.”

Steve turned heel as he saw Natasha and Clint do the same, heading back to their lockers to change out of their training gear. Steve worked with Rumlow and his team sometimes. Usually Fury had him working with Natasha and Clint, if he wasn’t going solo, and Rumlow wasn’t technically under Fury’s supervision. The team he led, S.T.R.I.K.E., worked for another director: Secretary Pierce.

But their paths crossed occasionally, and Steve didn’t mind. Rumlow was efficient at his job, and had a good command of his team: four alphas pulled from various special operations who were then given S.H.I.E.L.D. training. They were almost exclusively counter-terrorists, and all the times Steve had worked with them had led to week-long escapades in distant parts of the world, looking to break up various terrorist rings. Which meant this time probably wasn't going to be much different.

Steve grabbed his phone out of his locker, contemplative. He knew he only had a few minutes before he needed to board the plane, so he quickly sent Sam a text.

_Might not be there for dinner. Work. No ETA. I’ll text when I’m Stateside._

He shoved his phone back in his locker, grabbing his uniform and efficiently stripping. He was just doing up the last zipper when he felt a tinge of disappointment in his gut. He glanced to the side where Natasha was strapping her widow bites on her wrist, and Clint was buckling his boots. Steve had a moment. He grabbed his phone and checked the messages.

_Be safe_

Steve grinned, typing out a quick _I will be_ before putting his phone back in his locker. He felt pleasantly warm as he grabbed his shield, which was different. He could get used to it.

“What about Tristan from the weapons facility? Ze’s nice.”

Natasha was asking him these questions as they walked through a rice field in Thailand, looking for signs of the group they were chasing. Steve was pretty sure a group of eight Americans stood out like a sore thumb in these parts, obviously up to no good, so he was glad Clint was there to keep a lookout. S.H.I.E.L.D. had had two agents in the area, and had lost contact with them earlier in the day. Considering the threat level of the area, and what they had been doing, S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to take immediate action to make sure the agents were retrieved, something that had made Natasha roll her eyes, like she had never been in such a position.

“I’m pretty sure Sam is exclusively into alphas,” Steve said, only half paying attention to what he said, as he kept his ears trained on the surrounding area.

They were about two miles from the village the agents had made base in, and who knew what they were going to find there. It probably wasn't the best place to have this kind of conversation, especially in mixed company, but Natasha didn’t seem to mind as she snorted.

“I never pegged you for such a kinky guy, Cap,” Clint said. “Three alphas,” he made an exaggerated shudder. “Don’t even think the neediest omega could handle that.”

“Tony only has the two, after all,” Natasha said in agreement.

“What can I say? I love surprising people.” Steve was still keeping an eye on the horizon, seeing the village come into view as they crested a hill.

“Sonya from logistics is pretty alpha-like, even though she’s a beta,” Natasha said thoughtfully.

“It’s the shoulders,” Clint offered. “And hey, didn’t she used to date two alphas? Perfect match!”

“What’s-his-face hardly counts as an alpha. He was too whiny.”

“The martial artist? Really? You thought he was whiny?”

“They were both martial artists. And it may have been because I broke his foot, but he stopped coming into the gym whenever I was there.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Can’t imagine why that would make him stop coming to the gym.”

“Yeah. Go figure,” Natasha said.

Clint pulled up, dropping down low so he was hidden by the tall grass, and Steve crouched as well, eyes tracking the area to try and spot what Clint had seen.

The rest of the team halted.

“What is it?” Rumlow asked, the first he had spoken since they had gotten to the ground.

Clint nodded towards the village. “We’re expected.”

Steve narrowed his eyes, and he finally saw what Clint had already spotted. There were about fifteen armed men standing at the entrance of the village, using civilians as shields. He took a deep breath, releasing it with a sigh as he dropped down,

“Looks like twenty civilian shields. They must have the whole village. I don’t think we’ve been made yet. Nat, you scout ahead.” He glanced around, but before he could say anything Clint nodded towards a collection of rocks off to the left.

“I’ll get in position and start popping them off quick once you guys are close.”

Steve nodded in agreement. “The rest of us are gonna get as close as we can before we can spring on them. Let Clint knock off as many as possible. If they start firing first, we retaliate. No civilians get injured.” He didn’t bother to look at Rumlow and his men, because he knew his orders would be followed.

Then he started crawling.

It was a week and a half before he was on a plane back to America. They had taken back the village that first afternoon, but the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents they were looking for had already been moved. This led to a week-long goose chase through Southeast Asia, mostly on foot, to try and locate them.

They found the first S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on the border of Laos at the end of the week, dead, with his tongue missing, as a message to them. Steve hadn’t known what information the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were carrying; it had been above his clearance and not included in their briefing, and he wasn’t sure if any of the others knew either.

He didn’t have time to focus on what he did and didn’t know about the mission. Seeing the man there, dead, spurred him on. He was at least capable of running on little sleep, and he wasn’t sure how the others managed it, but they never flagged as they eventually chased down the group and managed to rescue the remaining agent from a warehouse in Taiwan.

The fight had been anticlimactic, after all of the chasing. And now they had the agent back: shaken, dehydrated and half-starved, but awake and safe.

Steve hadn’t even learned their names, he realized. Not that it mattered. The mission had been at least a partial success.

Natasha dropped down in a seat next to him. “So I really do think Sonya would be your best bet.”

He shook his head with a laugh, because that was typical Natasha. Brushing off the mission and moving forward. It was a good attitude to have in this line of work, and Steve was a little bitter he couldn’t always leave his baggage at the door.

“You think?”

She shrugged. “I don't know any single openly queer alphas, but Sonya seems nice. And, like we said before, she has dated two alphas before, so she’ll know how to handle you.”

“I don’t even know how to handle myself,” Steve said with a self-deprecating smile.

Natasha leaned close to him, like she was sharing a secret. “That’s what your partners are for.”

Steve’s eyes shot over to Clint, who was talking with the agent in gentle tones. Natasha tracked his eyes and smacked him lightly on the forearm. “When are you and Clint going to get a third?”

“We aren’t,” she said simply, pulling away from him. Steve waited to see if she would say anything else, and she didn’t disappoint. “I've told you, it’s not safe. The _Bond_ is dangerous in our line of work. If one of us was discovered on a mission…”

“But you want me to Bond?” Steve asked, cutting her off.

She grinned at him. “We’re in different lines of work. You’re Captain America. Can’t exactly go into espionage like me.” She blew out a breath, and closed her eyes. “You need something to ground you. A Bond could do that. Or at least I assume it can.”

“It can,” Steve allowed, thinking of the warmth of Peggy that kept him and Bucky sane while they were on the front lines, looking for HYDRA. She had grounded both of them, reminding them what it meant to be human even when they both felt like they didn’t deserve it. Feeling her presence in the back of his mind had always made it easier to get up each morning, and Bucky seemed to share his sentiment. “I just want to take my time, learn more about Sam first.”

Natasha made a face. “And be on uneven ground when you finally meet up with a third?”

Steve shrugged. “It worked out fine last time.”

Natasha went silent, and Steve allowed himself to sink into his own mind. He knew it wasn’t common to wait so long to find a third, but he could barely give Sam the attention he wanted to. He’d just been gone a week and a half, after spending every evening with him. Who knew how long Sam would want to put up with that. And he wasn’t likely to find another person who would put up with it, if he was lucky enough to have Sam stick around.

“I need someone I can relate to,” Steve said, and he only knew Natasha was listening by her slight movements.

“I think Sonya was a Green Beret before she came to work for us. An officer, even.”

Steve snorted. “I’ll see what Sam has to say about it.”

“You do not look like a man who just got back from a mission.” Sam said as he stepped to the side to let Steve in.

Steve had showered after his briefing with Fury before heading over to Sam’s house with a box holding brinner takeout. He had remembered to text just as he stopped at the diner, making sure it was alright to drop by on a Wednesday night after no contact for a week and a half.

“Sorry, I tried to shower and make myself presentable before coming over. I brought dinner.” Steve held up the box and Sam took it from him, eyes lighting up when he peeked into one of the takeout containers and seeing what was in it.

“Yes, you did, and I am thankful. It’s been a long week.” He shot Steve a look, seeming to realize what he had just said, but Steve shrugged as he sat down at the kitchen table, grabbing his box of pancakes.

“Tell me about it.”

Sam sat down across from him. “Just dealing with administration. Paperwork is the worst part of any job, right?”

“I’ve been lucky about avoiding paperwork. I do most of my meetings orally. I’m pretty sure most people think I’m afraid of a computer.” Sam laughed. “It works out for me, though.” Steve felt himself relaxing as he fell into conversation with Sam. They were able to pick up where they had left off, like the lack of communication wasn’t a factor.

It made for an easy dinner, even as Sam’s cell phone rang and he had to cut himself off mid-story about the new vegan restaurant Maddie the front desk girl had made him try.

“Hey, you jackass,” Sam said, face morphing from cheeky to horrified in an instant as whoever was on the other end spoke. “Bella! Hi, sweetie! How are you? I didn’t know you were old enough to call people on the phone by yourself!” Sam stood up, holding up one finger as he mouthed _niece_. “Did you have fun at school? Play nice with all the other kids?” Sam nodded along with what Bella said on the other end of the phone. “Well, I’m very proud of you, Bella. I’m glad you are so excited for school, and I know you’re gonna be wonderful. Exactly like mama and mema and nothing like your daddy, right? Okay. Uncle Sam loves you, too, baby. Now let me talk to daddy.” Sam laughed, and Steve could only guess the phone had been handed over. “Oh, you know, I just called you a dumbshit to your precious baby girl since you decided to spring that one on me when you know how I answer your fucking phone calls. Yeah, fuck you, too, Seth. Listen, I gotta go. Brinner is here and my delivery boy is hot. Did I stutter? Brinner. Breakfast for fucking dinner. It’s delicious. Okay. Give everyone my love. Enjoy having two in school.”

Sam hung up, and it took him a moment to come back to sit down. Steve had stopped eating during the phone conversation, too interested in how Sam had sounded on the phone.

He sat down finally, and picked up his fork to finish his dinner. “That was one of my brothers,” he said unnecessarily. “His second kid started kindergarten today and she was super excited. I was just one of the stops on the list.”

Steve grinned. “Sounds fun.”

“He's good people. After I got back from my last tour it was...." Sam went silent and Steve watched as he searched for the words he wanted to say. "Seth let me stay with him and his family. Bella had just been born and that was good for me.” Sam was smiling by the time he finished talking. “So I’d ask what you’ve been up to, but I’m pretty sure you’d have to kill me?”

“Something like that.” He took a breath, deciding now was as good as a time as any. “Nat wants to set us up with someone, though.”

“Who?”

“Nat – Natasha. I work with her.”

“No, I know that,” Sam said. “Gorgeous red-headed alpha? Black Widow. I’m asking who she wants to set us up with.”

“That’s the one. And she’ll settle for anyone. Just wants me barefoot and pregnant.”

Sam smirked. “Now that’s an image.”

“Shut up.” Steve was smiling though, the warm, light, happy feeling back in his chest. “I think it’s her way of showing she likes someone. Everyone seems to do it in their own way. Tony likes buying our affection.”

“Sounds like a healthy way of showing friendship.”

“Well, the other option is actually telling each other we like one another, and Tony has informed me on too many occasions that affection makes him break out in hives.”

Sam laughed. “So, any Avengers holiday parties I’m going to have to go to?”

“Possibly,” Steve said with a grin, as he cleared his plate. “So, dating?”

Sam shrugged. “It won’t hurt. Not unless we get, like, stabbed.”

“I’ll take the knife for you if it comes to that. Since I heal and all.”

“Damn right you would. I’ve been shot at enough for a lifetime.” He paused as he put his empty box in the trash.

Steve felt something tighten in his chest and he stood up, crossing the room to be beside Sam. He put his hand on Sam’s waist, pulling him into a loose hug, realizing that they hadn’t kissed hello yet, so he did just that. Sam was pliable, and he returned the kiss with ease.

“I was in Southeast Asia, chasing down two kidnapped agents,” he said quietly.

“Southeast Asia is pretty vague,” Sam said.

Steve couldn’t help it as one hand drifted up to cup Sam’s face. “I never even learned the name of the group we were after – not sure they had one – or what the agents’ names were. I just knew my mission, which was to save them. And I did – one at least. The other died.”

Sam nodded. “But you’re here.”

“But I came back. And any injuries I might have gotten have already healed.” He pressed their foreheads together and felt the tension in his chest loosen.

“Never thought I’d be the one at home waiting. It’s putting a lot of things into perspective,” Sam whispered. Steve squeezed Sam closer to him, dropping a quick kiss on his lips. “Makes me wish I could be back out there. I did a lot of good.” He pulled back, looking Steve in the eye. “You ever need me, just ask. I’ll help.”

Steve couldn’t help the smile that bloomed across his face. “I know.”

“So. This date. Your buddy Nat gonna be able to find someone by Friday?”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll find a way. She had a whole list of people for me, and she asked me about at least one of them any chance she got. Which, with her, meant in the middle of a gun fight sometimes.”

Sam laughed. “She gonna get Barbossa to officiate the wedding?”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “I don’t get that reference.”

“Oh, sweet summer child, we are gonna marathon some movies tonight. If you’ve got time?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. I mean, during the day I have to go back in, but no mission.”

Sam grinned, and pulled him towards the living room. “Now, there are like five of these movies now, but we only acknowledge the first three.”

“Like with Star Wars?”

“Exactly!”


	4. Chapter 4

The first blind date was the next Friday with Sonya from Logistics. She was blonde and built like a rower – shoulders strong with muscle. Steve could see why Clint said she had an alpha-like quality to her, and it must have come with the territory of being an officer. However, she had a friendly smile that lit up her face, so it was easy to fall into conversation with her.

She seemed more interested in Sam than Steve, though, which had Sam laughing the whole way back to his place after they had left, all agreeing to meet up again, but not exchanging any contact information.

The second date was a week later with Fred, the manager at Natasha’s grocery store. Ze was a friendly alpha, with red hair and a splash of freckles across hir face. They ended up at a dive bar Sam had heard was recommended. The food was awful, and Steve was only saved from food poisoning because of the serum. The same was not said for Sam, or Fred, and they had to call an otherwise alright night to a close early because of it.

The date the three of them went on the next week ended in a similar unsuccessful fashion when the open mic night Fred had suggested going to ended in an all-out brawl between the spoken word poet and a heckler in the crowd. As they were waiting outside the restaurant to be questioned by police, and Fred was nursing the black eye ze had picked up by virtue of being caught in the middle, they had decided maybe actually going out for their dates wasn't the best idea.

When the third date, the next night at Fred’s apartment, had ended with the fire alarm and sprinklers going off the three of them had agreed they should stop trying to date at all.

Natasha had found the whole series of events hilarious.

“Sorry, I have to take this,” Steve said right as the appetizers were set down.

Their third date, Darren, was a security officer at Natasha’s bank, and he did not look impressed as Steve stood and left the table with nothing but a raised glass from Sam, who could guess why he was leaving.

Clint was parked outside the restaurant inside Natasha’s car, and he almost looked apologetic as Steve got into the front seat. “Sorry about ruining your date, but we have a missing bomb in Congo. Or by now it could be Uganda.”

“What do you mean a missing bomb?” Steve asked, barely able to put on his seatbelt before Clint peeled off, and god, Steve really missed Natasha’s driving at this point.

“Well, you see, S.H.I.E.L.D. had it in their possession about eighteen hours ago, and now it’s gone.”

“Eighteen hours? You sure it’s not in, I don’t know, Australia, and not Uganda?”

Clint blew through a red light and barely avoided getting hit. “Nah, we have a tracker on it. But those things can get removed, so who the fuck knows. I took my hearing aids out halfway through the meeting.”

Steve pulled out his phone and texted Sam. _I might actually die before I get to this mission._

Sam answered immediately. _:( I’m pretty sure this guy just left me here to foot the bill._

Steve cursed the fact that he hadn’t left his wallet with Sam when he had said he would pay for dinner tonight. He typed out his card information for Sam to give to the staff and then prayed for his life as Clint pulled into the Triskelion parking lot. “We’re gonna be blackout during this op so make sure to tell the boyfriends,” Clint said, parking and getting out of the car in record time.

Steve tossed his phone in Natasha’s glove compartment, sure it would be just as safe there as his locker, and then followed Clint.

The mission lasted three weeks, and they were a rough three weeks. Steve was exhausted by the time he landed back in Washington, and nursing a headache that had been growing since last week. He thought he had gotten over that with the serum, but apparently even his super human body could give out under the right conditions.

They finally found the bomb being auctioned off in Cairo three days ago, and it had been a rush to get Clint set up to go undercover to retrieve it. Steve wasn’t trained to go undercover, which left him waiting in the safe house with a comm in his ear while Clint and another agent went in. 

They had succeeded, Clint returning to their safe house with the bomb in hand. Steve had marveled at the fact that it was only the size of his palm, but apparently had the power to level six city blocks.

Steve could only guess what S.H.I.E.L.D. planned on using it for.

He made sure to grab his phone from Natasha’s unlocked car before he left S.H.I.E.L.D. He wasn’t surprised to see that he only had five missed messages, all of them from Sam, considering that the only other people who had his number had been running around central Africa, and then eastern Africa, and then northern Africa, with him.

_Be safe, Steve,_ the oldest message read, sent almost fifteen minutes after he had left the phone in the car.

_Pretty sure that guy isn’t going to call us back,_ the next message read, sent two days later.

_Dude just called and told me he didn’t think he could handle the stress. I may have laughed. Does that make me a bad person?_ Sam had sent next, followed by, _Props to him for getting in contact with me at least. That’s a first._

_Still no news from you, but also no news of any operations getting fucked up so I’m guessing you’re alright… Be safe, Steve,_ said the message sent last week.

“Yo, Rogers, you need a lift?” Natasha called, and Steve looked up from where he was almost at the gate. He had planned on calling Sam and meeting up with him as soon as possible, and while getting a ride from Natasha meant he’d probably get to where he needed to go faster, it also meant making the phone call in her presence.

Clint was following behind Natasha, and he opened the passenger door. “You’ll have to take the backseat, though! I call shotgun.”

Steve looked at his phone and then sighed. His headache was getting worse and he just wanted to get home and see Sam. “Sure, drop me off at my place,” he said as he climbed into the backseat. “And do you mind if I make a phone call?” He still didn’t know the exact rules of talking on cell phones when around other people.

“Yeah, go ahead. Tell the boyfriend we said hi,” Natasha said, looking at him in the rearview mirror.

“Will do,” Steve said as he pushed Sam’s name on his phone. He waited for it to ring three times, and was half expecting it to go to voicemail. Steve checked the time, and his phone told him it was six pm on Friday night. Sam wouldn’t still be at work.

“Steve?” Sam answered the voice.

“Hey, Sam.” Steve shut his eyes, letting himself soak up Sam’s voice. “Sorry, I just got back. I’m catching a ride back to my place…” He trailed off before he invited himself over, because he didn’t know if Sam wanted to see him.

“Damn,” Sam said. “I’m out with my coworkers at a bar down the street from the office. You want me to come over? Wait, have I even been to your place?”

Steve’s stomach unknotted. “No, I don’t think so.” He was pretty sure it was just convenience. He had been spending most of his time at Sam’s; his place was bigger so they could have space if they needed to. “But I don’t want to pull you away from them. What if, what if I joined you? Would that be okay?”

“You up for that?” Sam sounded unsure.

“Yeah,” Steve said. “Yeah, I got some sleep on the ride back.” Which wasn’t completely true, but he was feeling better. His headache was going away, and he didn’t feel the bone deep exhaustion he had been. “Text me the address and I’ll head over there after I change. I’m wearing the same outfit from our date.”

Sam laughed. “I’m so glad you’re back. I’ll see you soon? They got a live band starting at eight.”

“I’ll be there,” Steve said before hanging up the phone. Clint was looking back at him with a fond expression. “What?”

Clint turned his head so he was looking at Natasha. “Look at our boy, Tash. So in love.”

Steve felt a blush coming to his cheek and he kicked the back of Clint’s seat, but gently, because if he damaged the car Natasha would kill him. “I missed him. And I’m sure it was hard with me being gone so long. He’s served in the Army, so unlike a civilian he has some idea of what I’m getting up to.” He hadn’t really told either of them much about Sam yet, even though technically he and Sam had been together two months.

“Well, you’re back safe so he doesn’t need to worry anymore,” Natasha said.

“He sounds good for you,” Clint said, reaching back and awkwardly patting Steve on the knee.

The display of friendship was appreciated. “I just hope I’m doing some good for him.”

“Of course you are,” Clint said. “You are the greatest good he is ever gonna get and I will tell him that when I meet him.”

A grin spread across Steve’s face. “He said that to one of his siblings awhile back. So I think he’d appreciate that. It’s a quote, right?”

Natasha slowly dropped her head to the steering wheel, groaning as she did. Steve was glad they were at a stop light. “Oh god, there are two of them. Steve, whatever you do, do not let these two meet. Barton might decide he’s suddenly incredibly into all alphas.”

Steve laughed the rest of the way to his apartment.

It wasn’t until he was walking up the stairs that it hit him how long it had been since he had been back. It wasn’t even the mission; even before that he spent most nights at Sam’s. That was definitely something to consider.

He looked up as his neighbor -- the nurse; Kate? -- came out of her room with a load of laundry.

“Hey, stranger,” she said with a shy smile. She was still wearing her scrubs, so Steve guessed she had just gotten off of work. “Haven’t seen you around here lately.”

Steve grinned. “Been busy.”

“Work?” Her smile turned a little impish. “I’ve been feeling particularly safe these past couple days.”

The laugh he let out took him by surprise. “Good to hear. Yeah. It’s been work.” He looked at his door, and thought about meeting up with Sam. “That, and also, I’ve sorta met someone.”

Her eyebrows shot up in amazement but she kept smiling. “Oh? Lucky you.”

“Yeah, so it’s been a lot of getting to know each other.”

“Going on dates,” Kate said with a nod. “Hey, if you need help finding a third who is understanding of crazy hours I work on a floor with a bunch of candidates.”

“Thanks, but I think I’m set. I have a co-worker who’s on the case.”

Kate laughed. “I know how that goes.” She took a step towards the stairs. “Well, it’s good to see you.”

“Hey, you know, I’m actually going out to meet him and a few of his co-workers.” She looked up. “If you wanted to come along? It’ll be pretty casual and I’d invite my own co-workers, but we all just got back and I think they deserve the night off.”

Kate’s face closed off. “I probably shouldn’t… but if you don’t think it’d be a problem?”

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t be fine,” Steve tried to give her his most winning smile. “Pretty sure Sam’s convinced I don’t have any friends.”

Kate laughed. “Well, I guess I’ll have to come with you to prove him wrong? Just let me put these away and get changed.”

“Sure, sure. Just knock when you’re ready. I’m getting changed, too, so…”

“Yeah. I’ll just...” Kate opened her apartment back up.

“Take your time,” Steve said, unlocked his door. When he got inside and shut the door he pulled out his phone to text Sam.

_Mind if my neighbor tags along?_

Sam had replied by the time Steve had gotten out of the shower. _The more the merrier! You’re paying though ;) I already promised._

The bar Sam was at was casual, with an older clientele. Steve found Sam easily, tucked away at a table in the back between what must have been two of his co-workers. Steve recognized the receptionist (she’d changed her hair from the bob to braids since he’d last seen her), though he hadn’t been introduced to her yet, but not the other man who was with them. Sam raised his glass at Steve as he and Kate walked up to them. He sidled around the other man, a white alpha in his early 40s, wearing his blond hair in the same military cut that Sam did, so he could give Sam a proper kiss hello.

Sam was grinning when they broke apart. “And hello to you, too.” He looked at his co-workers, who were trying very hard not to seem like they were looking at them. “Steve, this is Madeline and Christopher, but if they end up liking you, you’ll be able to call them Maddie and Chris.”

“Nice to meet you both.” Steve held out his hand to shake each of their hands. “I’m Steve.”

“Oh, we’ve heard about you, Captain,” Maddie said with a flirtatious wink. Sam winced and shot him an apologetic look. “Sam’s been missing you.”

Steve laughed and looked at Kate, who had taken a seat. “This is my neighbor Kate. She just got off work so I figured she could use a drink.”

Chris gave her a friendly smile as he poured her a glass of water from the pitcher in the middle of their table. “You save the world, too?”

She took the glass, nodding. “Sometimes. I work as a nurse at Walter Reed.”

Maddie clapped her hands. “Good for you. You served before you started working there?”

“No,” Kate said. “My grandma did. World War II. And my mema just retired.” She cut a look to Steve, almost apologetic, but he couldn’t understand why.

Maddie gave another round of claps. “We work at the VA. Sam and Chris both served but I haven’t. Flat feet.”

“But we still love you,” Chris joked.

Steve leaned down as the three of them continued talking to whisper in Sam’s ear. “Need me to get you a refill?”

Sam nodded, pushing his chair back and standing up. “We’re getting another round. Any orders?”

They took the orders and went up to the bar, where they had to wait to get the attention of the bartender. It was okay with Steve, though, because Sam let himself be wrapped in Steve’s arms as the band started their set, nuzzling his face into Steve’s throat.

“So glad you’re back.”

“Me too,” Steve said, clasping their hands together. He knew they stood out, just the two of them cuddling there, but he didn’t care. He kissed what skin he could find.

“Just this round and then we’ll cut out?” Sam asked, having to step away when the bartender finally got to them.

Steve kept his hand pressed to Sam’s back as he ordered, and when the drinks were finished he helped carry them back to the table. 

“So, what do you say?” Sam asked, once they were seated again. Apparently the conversation had changed to sports while they were gone. 

“Leaving after this round?” Steve asked, mouth close to Sam’s ear so their conversation could stay private.

“Yeah.”

Steve glanced at Kate, who had Maddie’s arm wrapped around her shoulder as they debated loudly about the Orioles versus the Nationals. She seemed to be doing alright as she slammed her hand on the table as she was making a specific point. He wasn't going to feel guilty about leaving her here. He turned back to Sam and kissed his cheek. “Remind me to pay beforehand, alright?”

Sam dropped his hand to Steve’s thigh and squeezed.

He took his time finishing his drink, but Steve didn’t mind, not when it meant he had more time to watch Sam be relaxed around his coworkers. They’d never done this after all, but he liked it. Maddie was a riot, talking a mile a minute the more she drank until she was leaning against Kate more often than not, and Chris, though he was quieter, had just as many interesting things to say. Sometimes even more, since he had traveled to some of the most remote places in the world while in the Service. Steve found himself enthralled, and a little jealous, listening to Chris talk about some of the places he had been.

Sam did finally finish his drink, and he stood up, stretching s he did so. “Not that I don’t love you two fools, but I’m getting tired.” He yawned as Maddie laughed, pulling herself away from Kate long enough to point at Sam.

“You just wanna go home and have your way with an American treasure,” she said, words slurring a little.

Steve blushed, unable to help it, especially when Sam just put his hand on Steve’s shoulder and grinned. “And there’s nothing you girls can do about it.”

Maddie clapped excitedly and then held out her fist for a fistbump, which Sam honored. Steve stood up as Maddie leaned back to drape over Kate again. He looked at Kate, raising an eyebrow. “You gonna be okay?”

Kate nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. And I’ll make sure she gets home fine.”

“Oh, you can call my girlfriend. She’ll like you,” Maddie said, giggling.

Kate’s attention was focused entirely on Maddie, leaving Steve to believe that it was fine to leave. He shook Chris’ hand, promising to stop by more often, before taking Sam’s hand and following him out of the bar.

The car ride back to Sam’s place was filled with comfortable silence, and while it was probably strange, Steve was glad there wasn’t that electric current of lust running between them. They were settling into something familiar and calm and it made Steve relax because it almost felt like coming home. He had missed that.

He followed Sam into the house, taking off his shoes and hanging up the hat he had brought with him. Late June meant the windows were open to let the summer breeze in, though Sam had already been talking about when it would become too humid for even him to bear and he’d have to turn on the a/c back in May. Sam turned around in the entryway, giving Steve a hug.

“Missed you,” he said, tucking his face into Steve’s neck. “That was tough.”

Steve returned the hug, squeezing tight. “Total black out. I wish there had been some way to contact you.”

Sam shook his head. “No, I understand. Just worries the fuck out of me.” He pulled back, cupping Steve’s face. “But you’re here with me now.”

Steve smiled, tilting his head a little so he could kiss Sam’s palm. “I always come back.”

Sam took a step back and out of Steve’s arms, nodding. “You better. Now come on, I think I deserve some cuddles.”

Steve watched as Sam headed towards the couch, and he grinned. The whole conversation they had just had reminded him of something. “So, that guy,” Steve said as he took a seat next to Sam.

Sam threw his head back and let out an aggravated moan. “Man, fuck that guy. ‘I can’t handle the stress,’ my fucking foot.” He hit his head against the back of the couch, groaning some more.

Steve was taken aback. “Strong reaction. Care to elaborate?”

Sam had his eyes closed as he pushed his head as far back as it would go into the cushions. Steve stayed quiet, waiting for Sam to talk. It was a trick he’d picked up from all the therapy they had tried to make him sit through, though he’d only noticed it once Sam had explained how he worked with some of his patients.

They sat in silence as Sam collected his thoughts.

“So,” Sam said. “This may come as a surprise to you, but you are not my first relationship.” Steve nodded, but kept his mouth shut, and a grin tugged on Sam’s lips as he acknowledged that. “I was in a fairly serious relationship a couple years back. It had started before I had even enlisted. They were civilians I’d met as a freshman in college and… they’d seemed alright with me joining up. We’d been together about a year before I did it, so we must have been about twenty. They thought it was real noble, and they were proud of me. 

“We didn’t Bond before I left, and at the time I thought it was for the best, you know? Me in active combat. And you can’t just force it. The Bond takes time sometimes, and I mean, for me - my parents all function together just fine even though they aren’t all Bonded. Doesn’t mean they don’t still love each other.” He blew out a breath. “After I got back, after everything I was in a dark place, and I was kinda glad we weren’t Bonded. Wouldn’t have done them or the relationship anyway good, but they’d moved on together without me. Didn’t want to tell me while I was over there, though. I just show up and Callie is fucking pregnant and Trae is telling me they don’t think they can handle the stress, or my recovery, and you know with the kid on the way…” Steve held his tongue, letting Sam talk even though it was getting close to rambling. He continued to rub his side, trying to soothe him.

“It’s why I moved in with Seth and his wives, Trisha and Rhonda. I helped take care of Jayden and Bella for a couple months before I got back on my feet,” he laughed. “Sometimes I wanna find them and just rub it in their faces. Haha, you don’t think I’m good with kids? Look how not fucked these two are. Never _once_ did I do _anything_ to hurt them, or put their lives in danger.” He let out a big sigh. “But I don’t, and every time I don’t Chris still gives me a sticker.” He shot Steve a smile.

Steve swallowed, finally figuring he could talk. “Chris was your therapist when you got out?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah. Big guy did a world of good for me. It’s been almost four years now since I got out. Almost as long as I was in that relationship for, and so it’s not as raw but man, that _still_ riles me. And even now when I’m in their position with you, I still think the stress and worry is worth it. Cause you’re worth it.”

Steve pressed a kiss to Sam’s lips. “You’d be worth it, too, you know.”

Sam chuckled. “No way in hell would you let me go off and do something without you.”

“Fair point,” Steve said, cracking a smile. “I’d be right there beside you. Re-enlist and everything. Or you could always join me.”

Sam shook his head. This was getting to be an old conversation but Steve didn’t mind, and he was pretty sure Sam didn’t either. “I’m good being your house alpha, waiting patiently for my soldier to come home.”

“And I’ll always come home,” Steve said, leaning in close for another kiss.

“And I’ll always be waiting.”

This was person number seven. Riley. Alpha. Bank investor, and Steve had no idea how Natasha knew him. He was handsome; dark skinned, with a thin angular face, and a body that didn’t look like it had seen any hard labor. He was coolly friendly, though, and after the first round of drinks, good wine that Sam had picked out, he started to loosen up.

He was a big film buff, which led to a flow of conversation between him and Sam, with Steve nodding along when they talked about something he had actually seen. The list was growing since he had started dating Sam.

Steve stretched his foot out, knocking against Sam’s ankle. They were sitting at a triad’s table, with Riley in the middle. Sam looked at him in the middle of what he was saying about the director’s cut of Blade Runner (one of the movies Steve hadn’t seen, because Tony had told him two years ago that he couldn’t watch it with anyone else, and they had never gotten around to it) to smile at Steve.

Steve frowned as Sam looked back at Riley. He could feel disappointment and disinterest, but it wasn’t coming from himself. He wasn’t particularly engaged in the conversation, but he wasn’t completely disinterested. Not the way he felt, pressing against his mind.

Steve hid his confusion behind a sip of water.

If the disappointment and disinterest weren’t his, did that mean…?

That wasn’t possible.

He watched Sam, really looked at him. He seemed engaged with the conversation, and like he wasn’t having that bad of a time, but then he stopped talking, and that’s when Steve saw it. Sam seemed to mentally disengage when Riley started talking.

Steve mentally went over the last four months with Sam, surprised they had been together that long, but then he remembered that out of that four months he had essentially spent three and a half weeks unreachable. He _had_ been noticing other emotions: warmth and concern that weren’t his own. But they had been small, unnoticeable until he really thought on it.

But maybe he was blowing this all out of proportion because there was no way, no possible way they were Bonding.

Steve reached out tentatively, the way he had the first time with Peggy, the night they were celebrating at the bar after he’d rescued the 107th. It – Sam – was warm and a deep reddish-brown in his mind. He nudged against the feeling, watching Sam’s face for any sign he noticed what was going on. Steve got nothing.

_**Sam?**_ He sent, hoping it was the right intensity because the first time he had done it to Bucky he had knocked him on his ass.

Sam didn’t even seem to notice.

Which meant that Steve was probably going crazy.

Except he was positive he felt something coming from Sam. He could _feel_ the sensation dampen as they paid for their dinner, and stood up to leave. When Steve took Sam’s hand the feeling changed from disappointment to warmth – a now-familiar warmth that Steve wanted to identify as Sam, except he couldn’t be sure. Not unless Sam acknowledged it.

They lingered outside the restaurant, as Sam finished talking about Ridley Scott and how he wasn’t exactly looking forward to his next movie, but he’d probably rent it on Blu-ray. Steve stood beside him, still holding Sam’s hand.

“It was nice meeting you two,” Riley said, holding out his hand.

“You, too,” Steve and Sam said at the same time.

Riley looked set to say something, but he just shook his head slightly, fishing out his business card. “If you feel like catching a movie, give me a call.”

“Sure thing,” Sam said, taking the business card.

They were left standing alone outside the restaurant, holding hands.

“These dates aren’t going very well, are they?” Steve asked.

Sam laughed. “Nah, but they give us some interesting stories.” He turned his head to kiss Steve.

“Yeah, who was it last week? Eileen?”

“The magician? Yeah, she was a trip.”

“I have no idea where Natasha finds some of these people,” Steve said, feeling warmth spread down into his chest, engulfing him, and he responded to it by tucking his head into Sam’s neck, nuzzling his pulse point. This definitely felt like a Bond, since it was so similar to what Peggy and Bucky had given him. But it was noticeably Sam, and Steve couldn’t explain why. 

He wished what he was feeling was the Bond.

“This one was hard,” Sam admitted. Steve looked at him, wondering if he was going to explain why he had seemed so distant and upset the whole date. Besides the fact that Steve couldn't relate to Riley, the date had seemed to be going pretty alright.

“Why?” He asked, when it became clear Sam wasn’t going to expand his answer.

Sam covered his mouth and then blew out a breath. “It’s stupid, because they look nothing alike, hell, _are_ nothing alike, but my wingman from the army… his name was Riley.”

Steve held his surprise in. This hadn’t come up in the earlier conversation about Sam’s past, but it made sense. Sam had said he’d been in a dark place, and losing someone... “What happened to him?”

“Mission went wrong. One minute he was right there in the air beside me, and the next he was gone. Blown out of the sky. And there was nothing I could’ve done. So it was just tough. A lot tougher than I imagined, sitting through dinner with some guy who had the same name.” Sam glanced down at Steve. “Bet that sounds stupid. Can't even go to dinner with someone who shared a name with my friend. Not even like an ex, just my friend.”

Steve squeezed Sam’s waist, because he didn’t think it sounded stupid. He could even understand. He was lucky that they had had nicknames for most of the Commandos because Jim, and James, and Timothy were all too common to risk having memories brought up every time he encountered someone with one of those names. He had known Sam had served, and seen active combat, so he knew Sam had lost someone at some point. It was how it went. But they hadn’t talked about it yet.

He wished he knew how to comfort him better. “You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “Probably not gonna call this guy back, though.” He paused for a moment, and kissed Steve’s forehead lightly. “Hey, if nothing else we don’t get stared at anymore.”

Steve took that for the change it was. “Maybe if I could relate to them some more it would be easier, since none of them seem to know what to do with me.”

Sam laughed, steering them towards where he had parked the car, keeping an arm wrapped around Steve. “When I find another guy from the 1940s who’s been frozen until now I’ll let you know. Until then you’re stuck with guys born in the ‘80s.”

“Did you know the ‘80s for me are the 1880s?”

“Oh, you’re gonna get snarky with me? You know, I was gonna invite you back to my place for a cuddle session, but I think I’ll just drop you off at home,” Sam said as they reached his car.

Steve laughed, because he knew there was no way that was going to happen. Not when he could feel what felt like love and fondness coming off of Sam.


	5. Chapter 5

The feeling was still there every time Steve checked for it over the next couple weeks. Sometimes it fluctuated, matching the moods that he could see reflected on Sam’s face, and all it did was confirm to him that, impossibly, this had to be the Bond forming. He would spend his downtime rolling in it, letting his mind soak up the feeling of someone else. Someone who was good, and kind, and had so much positivity in their thoughts.

Steve just hoped that if and when Sam finally went into his mind he’d find the same feelings, and be able to take the same comfort from him, even when he spent most of his time training or fighting.

“Where’s Clint?” Steve asked, looking around the locker room. He had been late, caught up in the shower with Sam, and normally by this time Clint had joined them.

“Mission in Europe,” Natasha said, fixing her wrist guards.

Steve frowned. “Then why do you look so happy?”

Usually Natasha was particularly surly after Clint left, but today she was as light on her feet as ever, grinning like she was ready to kick his ass.

Natasha rolled her eyes. “My happiness is not tied to Clint being here. And I don’t get _surly_ when he’s gone. It’s just that normally when he leaves we still have missions, which means we need someone to take Clint’s place.”

Steve grimaced remembering the faceless grunts who had been paired with them in the past in the absence of Clint. It was one of the reasons the three of them had gained a reputation for working only with each other.

“Are we benched then, while Clint is gone?”

Natasha snorted. “Not likely. The world isn’t gonna stop being crazy. _But_ a little bird told me who they have planned to be his replacement.”

“Someone you know?” Steve frowned. “Did they convince Tony to join up? Thor isn’t back, is he?” Neither of them would probably fit in the stealth role, but if they needed to change their plans, so be it. Sometimes brute force worked out.

“It’s a Winter Soldier,” Natasha said, her smile close to breaking her face.

“Winter Soldier? Who’s that?”

“It’s a code name for a training program here at S.H.I.E.L.D.” Natasha was watching Steve. “You never read up on it?”

“Was never included in my briefs.”

“Interesting. But I guess they didn’t think you’d need to know.”

“So what’s Winter Soldier?”

“Like I said, it’s a training program. S.H.I.E.L.D. got it from the Russians after the Cold War ended as a gesture of good faith. It’s very intensive, so S.H.I.E.L.D. uses it sparingly. The last Winter Soldier was almost five years ago.” Natasha looked thoughtful. “The program is anonymous. No one knows who a Soldier is.”

“Why?”

“It’s used as a repayment plan. S.H.I.E.L.D. picks up an injured vet, someone who has lost an arm, and I assume a leg, but the Soldier has never worn shorts, so we can’t be sure. They outfit them with the latest Stark tech prosthetics, but those are expensive, so the Soldier pays for it with their service.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D’s personal assassin.”

“Part-time,” Natasha clarified. “Or, well, temporary. The Soldier does some of the dirty work that you or I would do, but under the mask of anonymity. And once their duty is done they’re given a new identity and set up in a new life. S.H.I.E.L.D. never bothers them again.”

“Sounds like a good deal. Does Fury run it?” Steve wasn’t sure it sounded like something Fury would approve of. He wouldn’t want so many loose ends out in the wild.

“Secretary Pierce, actually. He’s been in charge of the program since it came into S.H.I.E.L.D. back in the ‘90s.”

“So you think we’ll be getting one of these Soldiers?” At Natasha’s nod Steve frowned. “And they’ll be good? As good as Clint?”

“Clint wishes he had the Winter Soldier training,” Natasha said.

“So when will we know if that’s what’s going to happen?” Steve asked.

Natasha shrugged. “Probably before the next mission. You ready to go get your ass kicked?”

He grinned. “Bring it on.” Steve changed his shirt quickly, and jogged after Natasha.

She hadn’t gotten far from the changing room, because Rumlow was there in the hallway with the rest of his team, and another person. Natasha whipped her head around to look at him, and she was smiling a truly happy smile.

The other person must have been who she had been talking about: Winter Soldier. Ze was dressed in a head-to-toe Kevlar uniform, except on hir left arm, which was made of gleaming metal. Hir hair was long, much longer than military standard, but pulled back in a high ponytail so it wouldn’t get in the way. Ze had a mask over hir mouth and nose, and goggles over hir eyes, hiding hir face completely from view.

The fact that ze didn’t have a scent led Steve to believe ze was probably a beta, but it was possible ze was masking it as well. Complete anonymity was the point of Winter Soldier, apparently.

Rumlow nodded to him. “Captain. Agent Romanov.”

Steve fell in beside Natasha, eyes unable to leave the Soldier. Ze stood in perfect parade rest, belaying hir military training.

“I’m assuming you’ve been briefed on this?”

Steve shook his head. “Nat told me a little before, but no official briefing.”

Rumlow’s eyes darted over to Natasha, and a small smile broke out. “Allow me to introduce you to our new teammate. This is Winter Soldier. We can refer to him as the Soldier.”

Steve couldn’t tell where the Soldier was looking because of the goggles, but he felt like his gaze had shifted to him. “Pleasure to meet you.”

The Soldier said nothing.

“Technically, Captain, he’ll answer to me in the field,” Rumlow said, when it was obvious the Soldier had nothing to say to Steve. “But he is at your disposal for missions. He’s an excellent sniper, possibly even better than Hawkeye.”

“I don’t use arrows,” the Soldier said, and the mechanical voice that came out startled Steve.

It seemed to startle Rumlow, who probably hadn’t been expecting him to say anything. If what Natasha said was true, and this was a wounded vet, probably no more than a kid who was hoping for a new life, Steve had no doubt he probably had tons of comments like that flying through his head.

“What do you use?” Steve asked.

And now, definitely, the Soldier’s full attention was on him. Steve could tell, even with the goggles and the fact that the Soldier hadn’t moved his head. “The HTR 2000 rifle.”

Steve nodded. “Sounds effective.”

The Soldier didn’t respond. Rumlow looked between the two of them, frowning. When he realized they were done speaking to one another he cleared his throat. “The rules of Winter Soldier are simple. You don’t try to find out his identity, he does his job and is the best at it.”

Steve held his tongue, but the rules made sense based on what Natasha had told him. The Soldier would be integrating back into real life. There was no reason to know who was behind the mask.

“He gonna get into the ring and show us his moves?” Natasha asked, inclining her head toward the Soldier.

The smile that slid across Rumlow’s face answered for him and Steve shook his head, pushing past the group to head towards the training room. It was mostly empty, minus two agents weightlifting and their spotter. The ring Natasha had been referring to was the boxing ring in the middle of the room.

Steve climbed into the ring, rolling his shoulders as he did. This was a common practice – the team trying out new additions. They hadn’t had anyone new since the last member of Rumlow’s team: Jefferson, a beta recruited from the Marines almost a year ago.

The Soldier climbed in after him, looking relaxed even under all the layers of clothing. They circled each other, Steve trying to guess what the Soldier would do.

The Soldier made the first move, something Steve guessed would happen, with a punch with his right hand. Steve was immediately on the defensive, parrying each strike.

The bite of the Soldier’s metal hand was a surprise every time Steve knocked the hand away. It was alright though; the Soldier probably wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace he set, and then Steve could drop him.

Steve focused on breathing correctly, as well as tracking the Soldier’s movements. The Soldier was quick and fluid, keeping up the rhythm of his punches until he had cornered Steve.

Steve ducked under his arm, intent on striking the Soldier on the back. The Soldier twisted too quickly, catching Steve’s hand. Steve frowned, foot sweeping out to try and trip the Soldier. He dodged with ease, and then there was a knife.

It was a training knife, made of polypropylene, unyielding as it started striking against Steve’s arms. The knife stung a little with each hit, and Steve tried to beat a quick retreat, not expecting it.

He needed time to regroup, but the Soldier pursued. Steve felt the knife hit his left shoulder, and he tried to bring his left arm up to hit the Soldier’s right wrist, hoping to dislodge the knife. It didn’t work, and he watched as the Soldier deftly switched hands, bringing the knife dangerously close to Steve’s throat.

Steve dodged and countered, catching the Soldier right in the gut with his shoulder.

The Soldier dropped.

Steve tried to take a moment to catch his breath.

The Soldier executed a kip-up before Steve could suck in more than a few breaths, taking him by surprise.

The Soldier had left the knife on the ground, but it didn’t matter. He punched with his left arm, and caught Steve right in the jaw with the metal. He must have pulled his punch, but Steve still felt the pain register.

Steve stumbled.

The Soldier took advantage, efficiently pinning Steve to the mat, retrieving his training knife as he did, and putting it to Steve’s throat.

“Game,” the mechanical voice said.

Steve couldn’t help the smile that graced his face. “You’re good.”

The Soldier didn’t say anything, and since there was only the mask and goggles Steve had no way to know how he reacted to the compliment or if he even registered it. He got off of Steve, and extended his right arm, pulling Steve to his feet.

It was then that Steve heard the whistles, and he was brought back to the present. Natasha was leaning against the side of the ring, smirking like an idiot. She did enjoy watching a good fight, especially one where Steve lost. She always said you learned the best from the fights you lost. Steve squeezed the Soldier’s hand before he dropped it, heading to the ropes so he could climb out and so the next person could have a go. He saw Natasha climb up, pausing to pull her hair back.

“You enjoy getting your ass kicked?” Natasha asked.

Steve grinned. “I look forward to you upstaging me.” He climbed down, joining Rumlow and the rest of his team while Natasha and the Soldier got into position.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get taken down so quickly,” Rumlow said, smiling.

Steve shook his head. “I underestimated him. Won’t be doing that again.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’d give you a second chance.”

Steve watched as Natasha attacked first, quickly climbing onto the Soldier’s shoulders, a garrot in her hand. Steve whistled low. “I don’t know where she keeps all those weapons.”

“Hammerspace,” Rumlow said with a shrug, eyes going back to the ring just as the Soldier bent forward, throwing Natasha from his shoulders.

They both made it look so easy, but Steve could tell that Natasha was giving it her all. The mask prevented him from knowing if the same was true for the Soldier.

“Is the mask really necessary?”

Rumlow shrugged. “Them’s the rules.”

“Even when it’s just around us?”

“The only people who know Winter Soldier’s identity are his handlers and Secretary Pierce.”

The Soldier got Natasha in a chokehold, his chest molded to her back as she tried to fight him.

“How many handlers does he need?”

Rumlow grinned just as Natasha broke the chokehold and switched their positions, knocking the Soldier to the mat, pinning him with her knee in his throat. “Depends on the day, and how well behaved he is.”

Natasha stood up, a huge grin on her face as she held out a hand for the Soldier. He took it, cracking his neck as he stood.

“You can’t take Nat,” Steve said.

“Don’t worry. We know she’s your pet.”

Steve tried to hold in his laugh, but it came bubbling up as Natasha approached him, leaning against the ropes. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, trust me. You wanna try to get out of a stronger chokehold?” Steve offered.

Natasha smiled, but stepped back from the ropes, giving him room to climb back in. “I just beat a guy who dropped you, so I think I’m set. If the two of you want to take me on together that might be a challenge. Not sure that would be enough, though.”

Steve darted his eyes to the Soldier, who was just standing there in the middle of the ring, waiting to be told what to do next. He looked back at Natasha as he climbed into the ring. “Soldier, you wanna team up?” That felt so awkward to say, and Steve wished he had a name to address the Soldier by.

The Soldier didn’t nod, but he shifted a little, turning back to Natasha to show that he had heard Steve.

Steve fell into position on the other side of Natasha, and she smirked. “Aw, make sure to go easy on me?”

Steve grinned as the Soldier advanced on her, quickly grabbing her with his left hand. She twisted, but the Soldier was using a stronger grip than he had before. It made Steve wonder if the Soldier had underestimated Natasha. It wouldn’t be the first time.

The Soldier took a step forward, making sure to dodge Natasha’s kick and grab her ankle, right as Natasha reached up, grabbing his ponytail and _yanking_.

The Soldier grunted, and loosened his grip just enough that Natasha was able to wiggle out of it, and right into Steve’s path. They exchanged punches, Natasha fast enough to dodge most of his swings as she made a tactical retreat.

It put Steve side by side with the Soldier, who had a hand rubbing the top of his head, where the ponytail was formed.

“Should probably get that cut back to regulation,” Steve said, not taking his eyes off of Natasha.

The Soldier didn’t reply, just undid the hair tie and let his hair hang loose. Steve wasn’t sure that would be much better, but he supposed it might make for a harder target.

They moved to attack Natasha together, and Steve found he didn’t need to think too hard to know where and when the Soldier was going to attack. He could easily complement the Soldier’s moves in a way he’d only been able to with one of the other Avengers, or the Commandos.

Or Sam. He hadn’t fought beside Sam, and he never wanted to, but he would put money on the idea that they would be complementary.

He and the Soldier managed to get Natasha cornered, and she raised her hands in defeat, grinning.

“Well, at least I know you aren’t completely useless,” she said as she got out of the ring.

Rumlow’s group was still hanging around the ring, but they slowly started to make their way towards the weight lifting area as they realized the fight was over. Rumlow raised his hand, beckoning the Soldier to his side.

Steve watched as the Soldier went to Rumlow’s side, and he could hear Rumlow whisper to him, “you did good.”

Steve kept his face neutral, because he was pretty sure Rumlow, and most people, tended to forget how good his hearing was.

“Steve, you wanna spot me at the bag?” Natasha asked, already headed to the punching bag on the other side of the gym.

He turned away from Rumlow and the Soldier. “You gonna wrap your hands this time?”

“Nah,” Natasha said with a smile, grabbing a pair of gloves and tossing them to Steve. “You can wrap them, though.”

“Well, come over here then,” Steve said.

He was riding the wave of his workout with Natasha by the time he headed home, to Sam’s apartment. He had stopped by the store on his way over, buying the groceries Sam had asked him to pick up. Sam was in a good mood, and had been all day, so Steve wasn’t surprised to hear soft music coming from the living room, with Sam singing along in the kitchen.

“You are just on time,” Sam said, looking up from where he was washing vegetables in the sink.

Steve put the groceries on the counter, and stepped into Sam’s space, kissing him. “Easy day at the office.”

Sam laughed, leaning in for another kiss. “The world didn’t end?”

“Not on my watch, it didn’t. What do you want me to do?” He asked, pulling out the pork shoulder that Sam had asked for.

“Well, I’d ask you to trim the fat off of that, but I’ve seen your skills with a knife, so you can start boiling the water for the noodles, and then you can grab us some beers and get out of my kitchen.”

Steve went about his tasks, grinning. “You make it sound like I’m a disaster in the kitchen.”

“Not a _disaster_. Just not as good as me, so you get in my way.”

“You didn’t mind me getting in your way last night,” Steve muttered and Sam threw his head back and laughed. Steve soaked up the feeling he was getting from the Bond.

“That was bad, Steve. Where did you get that from? Was it Clint? He seems like the one who tells bad jokes.”

Steve shook his head as he put the pot of water on the stovetop and turned on the heat. “Clint’s off on a mission right now, so that was all me.” He frowned. “Can I tell you something? About work?”

Sam looked over at him. “You can tell me anything you want.”

“It would have to be a secret,” Steve said.

“Just let me update my Facebook status with this,” Sam said with a grin. “My boyfriend, Captain America, is about to tell me secret government secrets. I’m so excited.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “It’s usually really bad when Clint or Nat leave. They’re part of my stability, you know?” Sam was nodding as Steve finished his task and took a seat at the breakfast bar, so he could still be engaged with him. “We normally get grunts to take their place. Other… agents. Clint likes to say all the agents are interchangeable, even Nat and him, but they aren’t. Not for me. But the guy we got. He’s different.”

“Different how?”

“He’s not an agent. He’s military, or special forces, or something. Not trained as an agent. He’s part of this other training program. Winter Soldier.”

Sam paused in cutting the fat off the pork shoulder. “Winter Soldier?”

“You’ve heard of it?”

Sam went tight lipped, but then he nodded. “I don’t know anything about it, except whispers. Never met anyone in it; never met anyone who knew anyone in it. So it was weird. But it was offered like a carrot for some of our more dangerous missions. ‘Do this and you might get chosen,’ kinda thing, even though we didn’t know what the hell we would be chosen for.”

Steve nodded. “It’s impressive. The guy, he’s impressive. He pinned me, though that might have been because I wasn’t giving it my all.” Sam laughed, like he wasn’t surprised. “The problem is, he’s supposed to be completely anonymous. I don’t even know his name. We just call him the Soldier.”

“That bothers you,” Sam said.

“I like knowing who has my back. It’s why the grunts bother me. I don’t know them, and yeah, this guy is temporary, too, but I haven’t even seen his face.”

Sam frowned, finished with the pig, and he was moving around the kitchen, tossing the noodles in to cook. “Just pretend he’s like another Iron Man? You don’t see his face, do you?”

Steve laughed. “I’ve seen Tony’s face plenty. But I understand what you’re getting at and I guess I just want to know who it is I’m supposed to be trusting.” Sam was nodding, and Steve realized he had said that twice already, in so many words. “Thanks. For listening.”

Sam smiled. “Thanks for trusting me with this. I can only think that if the guy was trusted with this important mission, and put on your team, he can’t be that bad. So even if you can’t see him, you’ll be able to trust him.”

Steve blew out a breath. “I think I’d rather have you.”

Sam looked up at him. “I told you, you ever need me, I’ll be there.”


	6. Chapter 6

The first mission with the Soldier on his team was routine. It only took a day: they were in and out of the country in under three hours, the bad guys all dead with bullets through their heads, courtesy of the Soldier.

Steve could only be impressed.

He missed Clint though, when they were traveling back and forth on the plane, because the one thing the Soldier was not good at was talking. Steve understood. He wasn't going to be a permanent fixture on the team, but paying off the arm wasn't going to be cheap so he'd be around for at least a couple missions. It would boost morale if he spoke more.

And besides, there wasn’t much else to do on some of those twelve-hour flights after they’d gone over the mission briefings. The Soldier kept to himself though, even when one of Rumlow’s guys broke out a deck of cards after the mission.

This became routine. Steve noticed the first couple missions were simpler than usual, probably just something to let them get accustomed to one another, but he also hoped that it was an indication that trouble was slowing down. He knew it wouldn’t go away entirely. There were evil people seventy years ago, there would be evil people seventy years from now. Hate would always find a way, and all he could do was try and stop it from reaching everyone. It didn’t stop him from wanting that to become reality.

Steve tried to see Peggy at least twice a month, but he’d been unable to do that recently. He’d seen her a few times since meeting Sam five months ago, in April, but not as much as he had before. With the lull in his workload due to the introduction of the Winter Soldier he made the trip. She was able to live at the home she had bought with her husband and wife back in the 50s, closer to New Jersey than D.C.

The first hour was always the toughest, and Alan, her oldest son, came with him each time just to oversee their initial meeting, to make sure she remembered who he was and didn’t poorly to him being there. But after she settled he was able to be alone with her and they could talk.

Today Steve laid his head in Peggy’s lap, letting her card his fingers through his hair.

“You seem happy, Steven.”

He snorted, closing his eyes. She didn’t call him Steven; that had been her and Bucky’s thing. Her exasperated “James,” and his mocking “Margaret,” would always put a smile on his face, regardless of how tired he was.

“I’m serious. I always thought, if you could see us now - you gave so much for the world and we rather mucked it up. But you seem okay.”

Steve knew anything he said to her would be forgotten soon. Her Alzheimer's was mostly with short term memories at this point, though he had been told it would rapidly deteriorate, but he didn’t mind repeating the same conversations over and over again. They were always had with sincerity, which Peggy’s wife and son had told him was one of the side effects. Alzheimer’s patients were incredibly honest. “I’ve met someone.”

Peggy’s hand stilled for a moment and he turned his head, looking up at her. She was smiling, tears in her eye. “Oh, that’s wonderful.” A smile came to his face; how could it not? “Tell me about them.”

“Him, just one.” He knew Peggy wouldn’t judge. She hadn’t the three other times he had told her about Sam.

She didn’t disappoint, laughing. “Oh, Steve, you never do it easy do you?”

“He’s an alpha.”

She gave another laugh. “Of course he is. Did I tell you about Howard? What the cheeky ass did?” She had, but Steve didn’t mind hearing it again. “He got married to a beta woman! Just the one! The press went mad - well, he didn’t _marry her_ cause he couldn’t, but they ended up having a son. She gave birth - which shocked us all to hell.” 

Steve nodded. He had known Howard was the only other omega member of their team. “Tony,” he said.

Peggy’s fingers didn’t stop running through his hair. “Yes, Tony. That child was a handful growing up. Too smart for his own good.” Steve grinned, because that sounded like Tony. “Tell me about your alpha, then.”

Steve didn’t want to mention the Bond and how he thought he could feel it every day. That wasn’t something Peggy needed to know, and there was a part of him that was worried it would just confuse her. “He’s, he’s very good for me. Understanding of all of this.” He didn’t specifically mean Peggy, but Sam understood that, too. “He makes me laugh when I get back exhausted from work. Makes me remember why I do this.”

“He sounds wonderful,” Peggy said, her voice distant. She was getting tired, and Steve kissed the back of her hand.

“I think I’m in love with him, Pegs,” Steve whispered against her hand. It was the first time he had said it out loud.

She smiled and stroked his face, making him look at her. “I’m so happy. You deserve it after- after everything.”

He leaned up and kissed her cheek. He didn’t want to wait until she forgot again. “You should get some sleep.”

She squeezed his hand. “I love you, Steve.”

He kissed her knuckles. “I love you too, Peggy. You’re always gonna be my favorite girl.”

She choked on her laugh. “Make an old lady blush.”

Steve left her as the home care nurse came in, and he saw Sam sitting at the end of the hallway, right where he had left him.

Sam looked up. “You ready to go?”

Steve nodded, taking Sam’s hand. “Yeah. Thanks for waiting. You didn’t have to. I think there’s a coffee shop around here.”

“It’s cool, but I’ll remember for next time,” Sam said, as they walked out of Peggy's house. “How’s she doing?”

“It was a good day,” Steve said with a shrug. “I told her about us again,” he said, and he knew it was the first time he had offered Sam a slice of what Peggy and he spoke about. “She was happy for me, for us.” He swallowed. “She always is.”

Sam squeezed his hand, and Steve felt the warmth coming through the Bond. He tucked himself close to Sam as they walked to the car.

_**Thank you for being amazing.** _

Sam kissed his forehead, but gave no indication he had heard.

Work picked up again, like Steve knew it would. Their team handled the shift, and the Winter Soldier adapted to the higher pressure missions. He continued his silence, but he always got the job done, so Steve couldn’t complain.

The latest mission was supposed to be simple crowd control. But Steve had learned there was no such thing as _simple crowd control_. 

They weren’t supposed to engage, because technically they weren’t in the country. S.H.I.E.L.D. was neutral in this conflict, or at least that was the party line Steve had been fed. And while he didn’t personally agree with being neutral, he had been in enough of these situations that he was learning when it was a good time to fight and when diplomacy was needed.

This was the type of situation, Steve had learned, where both groups needed to have their sides heard, and as long as no one incited anything it was fine. That’s what they were here for. He, Natasha, and S.T.R.I.K.E. Team were watching the two sides - government and opposition - scream at one another as they both stood outside the National Capitol.

Occasionally they waded into the crowd, pushing one side or the other back a little, but they kept their weapons down, and undrawn. If they started walking around with their weapons drawn the tensions would rise, and they wouldn’t be able to keep the peace.

Steve couldn’t understand the shouting; his grasp on Spanish was tenuous at best, much to his dismay. He thought his French would be more helpful, but it wasn’t. Especially when the two crowds were at a roar.

Natasha looked relaxed, though, and she understood Spanish fluently, which probably meant no one was saying anything dangerous.

The Soldier was squatting on the other side of Steve, head facing forward. Steve wondered if he was tired. They had been standing for almost five hours now, and even Rumlow had had to step away to stretch his legs.

Steve was about to offer that option to the Soldier when the Soldier’s head suddenly snapped to the side, and before Steve knew it he was being pushed down to the ground.

A gunshot rang out and Steve rolled.

Natasha dodged him, running in between the two sides to try and control the panic at the same time the Soldier opened fire.

“Soldier!” Steve called. “Stand down!”

But he realized that order couldn’t be followed as soon as he looked up and assessed the situation. Steve finally saw what the Soldier must have spotted before he tackled Steve: snipers on the roofs of the surrounding buildings. 

The Soldier was methodically taking down each one, but there were too many. They would kill their intended targets, and more than likely some civilians, before the Soldier got to them. 

Rumlow and the rest of the S.T.R.I.K.E. away team had joined Natasha trying to calm everyone and keep them on their respective sides. The last thing they needed right now was for someone to cause even more chaos in the middle of a gunfight. It’s what the snipers no doubt wanted, and Steve wasn’t going to allow it.

Steve grabbed one of the Soldier’s guns from his holster, firing at the gunmen closest to him. He wasn’t a perfect shot by any means, but he he was functional. Bucky had even been impressed.

The final sniper dropped, and the roar of the crowd filtered back in.

Steve raised his arms in a sign of surrender, showing he was finished, and he was grateful when the Soldier copied his movements. He couldn’t tell if his gesture was being taken for what it was, but Natasha was speaking to both the opposition and government leaders, explaining what happened.

Neither looked pleased, and Steve had doubts that either side would claim responsibility.

Steve dropped his hands, and turned the gun over to the Soldier. “Nice eyes, and good shooting.”

“You too, Captain,” the Soldier said, holstering both guns. “You weren’t hurt, were you?”

Steve shook his head. He could only assume he had been the target of the first gun shot, but the Soldier had seen it, and pushed him out of the way.

The Soldier nodded, and then turned, heading to Rumlow and Natasha’s sides. Steve joined them.

Steve didn’t realize the Soldier was injured until they were back on the plane and under the bright light inside the cargo bay. That’s when he noticed the discoloration on the Soldier’s uniform, and the bullet holes near his shoulder.

“You’re injured,” he said dumbly, no idea what else _to_ say. It hadn’t crossed his mind when the Soldier had asked him earlier to return the favor, assuming that if he was injured he would have said something.

The Soldier shrugged, not even looking down at the injury. He was seated in one of the jump seats of the cargo plane, not wearing the seat belt, more than likely because of his injuries.

Rumlow was getting checked out at the other end of the plane, so Steve had no one to report the Soldier’s injuries to. He took a seat next to him.

“I can look at them.”

“It’s fine,” the Soldier said. “I treated them in the field.” Steve didn’t remember that. “When you were talking with the two sides. I’ll last until we get back to base.”

Steve frowned. The mechanical sound of his voice didn’t provide any indication of what he was actually feeling, and since he couldn’t see his face, Steve had no way of knowing if the Soldier could actually last until they got to base.

“It’s only six more hours,” the Soldier continued. “I’ve had worse.”

Steve couldn’t help but glance at the Soldier’s arm. “That’s not the point.” He let out a breath. “And, just a heads up, but you don’t need to take a bullet for me. I’m not sure they explained this to you, but I’m pretty indestructible.”

The Soldier turned to look at him, and Steve could feel his eyes bearing down on him even through the goggles. “I have a metal arm.” He paused, and Steve waited to see if he had anything else to add. “Doesn’t mean getting hit on it doesn’t suck.”

Steve couldn’t stop himself from grinning. “It’s different. I can just get back up. And my healing time is faster. I wouldn’t still be bleeding.”

“I’m not bleeding. Stopped after I took out the bullets-”

Steve cut him off. “I would be completely healed, I mean. No more wound at all. And my body pushes the bullets out as part of the healing process. So don’t take any more bullets for me, okay?”

The Soldier turned away from Steve. “You didn’t notice the snipers on the roof. Alerting you would have wasted time. I completed the mission.”

Steve couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up. “Pretty sure that mission got blasted to all hell.”

There was something like a mechanical snort, and it took Steve a moment to realize the Soldier must have been trying not to laugh. “We all got out alright, and no civilians were killed. Mission successful.”

Steve allowed him that victory. He closed his eyes, letting himself finally try and touch the Bond with Sam. He didn’t like acknowledging it on missions, afraid that would taint it somehow, especially since Sam was still unaware of its presence. Hell, Steve still wasn’t 100 percent convinced it was real some days.

_**I’m safe. I’m coming home. This day was awful, though, and I miss you like hell,**_ he thought at Sam, comforted even if Sam couldn’t hear him.

“Where do you go?” The mechanical voice pulled Steve from Sam’s warmth, and when he looked the Soldier was staring straight ahead. “You do that a lot, close your eyes and drift. Your heart rate slows down, and your breathing becomes even.”

“My heart rate?”

The Soldier pointed to his goggles. “They can analyze my surroundings and give me basic vitals.”

That explained how he had been able to spot the snipers. Steve cleared his throat. “Just thinking.” He glanced around to see if anyone else was listening, but the other members of Rumlow’s group was asleep. “I, uh – have a boyfriend, back home. So I think about him.” The Soldier was silent. “Do you, or did you have anyone?” Steve was pretty sure he wasn’t allowed to see anyone from the rules Rumlow had laid out, but he couldn’t be sure.

“No.”

Steve was surprised at how short the word sounded. Sam had explained to him that some boys and girls sign up right out of high school, and Steve could only assume that’s what had happened with the Soldier.

“It makes it easier,” Steve said. “But sometimes it can be harder.”

“I wouldn't know,” the Soldier said. He let his head thunk back against the headrest.

“Soldier!” Rumlow barked, coming down from the front of the jet. Steve looked over at him as he approached them, head bandaged. “We have a table set up to check you over.”

The Soldier stood up without arguing, not like he had been with Steve. He didn’t say anything to Steve as he passed him.

Steve realized right as he knocked on Sam’s door that it was almost nine o’clock at night on a Tuesday, and there was a good chance he probably wouldn’t be welcome. He and Sam hadn’t spoken about things progressing further, taking every day as it came. But when he got out of his briefing he found himself at Sam’s doorstep instead of his own apartment.

He hadn’t even texted Sam, since he phone was dead when he got back to his locker.

Sam opened the door, the sound of nighttime reality television coming from the living room. “I should probably get you your own key.”

Steve felt the smile spread across his face as he fell into the hug Sam offered, kissing him in the doorway. _**I think I love you.**_

Sam laughed. “I think I love you, too. Come on in. I have America’s Got Talent playing. We’re in the middle of the finals.” Steve froze in the doorway, and Sam grinned, stroking his cheek. “What? Don’t get shy on me now; I caught you watching the reruns last weekend and we aren’t going to pretend that didn’t happen.” He dropped his head. “Or was I not supposed to hear that love confession?”

Steve shook his head, emotions mixing up because, _**no, you weren’t.**_

“I can always pretend I didn’t,” Sam said gently, even though Steve could feel the well of hurt from Sam in his head, down through his body.

He lifted his head, took a step into the house, and shut the door. He stared straight at Sam and thought. _**I don’t want that.**_

Sam frowned. “Then we don't…” he trailed off, and his eyes went wide. “Steve. Why aren’t your lips moving?”

A smile broke across Steve’s face, and he wanted to do nothing more than grab Sam and kiss him and delve into this together because _Sam could hear him_ , the Bond was _actually there_. It wasn’t a figment of his imagination. Beyond all reason it was real, and there.

" _ **The Bond**_ ,” he said and thought at the same time, and he could tell it knocked Sam offkilter, so much that he stumbled, and Steve caught him, pulling him into the living room. “Here, put your fingers on my temple. I can help you find it.”

Sam looked dumbstruck. “What are you talking about?”

Steve shushed him. “Take a deep breath. I know you know how to meditate. It’s just like that. Deep breaths, and think inside. It appears like a ball, or a thread sometimes. Usually,” he swallowed. “Usually there is a color.”

Sam pulled his hands away from Steve, burying his face in them instead. Steve could feel Sam pulling away from him in his mind, and it terrified him, but if he took a step back he could see where Sam was coming from. This was entirely new territory for him. He’d never Bonded before, and the thought had probably never crossed his mind, not with just the two of them. Steve realized he might need to give Sam time. He shouldn’t have been so aggressive.

“Sam? Do you need me to leave?”

Sam laughed, and his hand shot out, gripping Steve’s wrist. “Don’t you fucking leave me now, you jackass.” He sat up, leaning back against the arm of the couch. “How long?”

“How long what?”

“Have you been trying to,” he gestured, “the Bond?”

Steve smiled, leaning into his space. “I noticed after that date with Riley, the Blade Runner guy.” Sam let out a nervous laugh. “I thought I was crazy.”

“Oh, you are bonafied crazy, I guarantee you that,” Sam said as he ducked his head, nuzzling into Steve’s neck. _**And you’re taking me with you.**_

Steve couldn’t help his own hysterical laughter. _**You, you found it?**_

Sam was nodding, pressing kisses to Steve’s neck, down to his collarbone. _**Wasn’t hard. Not after…**_ He pulled back and looked at Steve. “I think I’ve been feeling it for a couple weeks now. But I couldn’t identify it. I just thought… I had been planning to ask you to move in. I know it’s a little taboo, just the two of us, but I thought you wouldn’t mind a little taboo.”

Steve snorted, kissing Sam, deep and dirty. _**My job is going to kill me.**_

_**My parents are gonna kill me.**_ The kiss was interrupted by more laughter, but Steve was too elated to care.

_The Bond_. It was real and beautiful in his mind. He wanted to swim in it, and hearing Sam panting, and the rush of thoughts being pushed into his mind made it so easy to straddle Sam’s lap, pushing for more.

“Is it cheesy to say ‘I love you’ now?” Sam asked. “I feel like a character in a bad romantic-flick.”

Steve stared down at Sam, his lips bruised from kissing. “Just take off your clothes.”

“Aye-Aye, Cap’n,” Sam said, shedding his shirt.

Steve dropped kisses on his neck, fingers tracing up Sam’s chest to his nipples. He was so sensitive to Steve's touch. Sam let out a hiss as he spread his legs, trying to pull Steve closer to him.

_**Remove your own clothes,**_ Sam whined in his head, hands pushing at Steve’s clothes.

Steve obliged him, pulling back for the few precious seconds it took him to strip off his shirt and pants.

Sam let out a moan, eyes going hooded as he looked at Steve. _**Never getting tired of that sight. No, sir.**_

Steve laughed, and launched himself back into Sam’s arms. He went to work following his fingers with his mouth, licking one nipple until Sam was crying out. They were sensitive, Steve had learned, and he loved torturing Sam by doing this.

Sam tugged at Steve’s hair, and while Steve knew what Sam wanted, which was Steve’s mouth back on his, he wasn’t going to stop. His fingers worked Sam’s sweat pants down his hips, mouth still latched on Sam’s nipple.

_**Fuck, fuck,**_ Sam was cursing, both aloud and in Steve’s head. “Come up here.”

Steve finally let go of Sam’s nipple as he got a hand around Sam’s cock, and he grinned as Sam slammed their lips together.

They kept kissing; deep, long kisses that turned into teasing ones, and then back again. Steve could do this for hours, kissing Sam while his hand slowly worked up and down Sam's cock.

_**Amazing. You’re amazing,**_ Sam was thinking as he grabbed the lube he had stored in a lotion bottle for camouflage. _**You wanna do this here, or the bedroom?**_

“Bedroom,” Steve gasped out, the first spoken words in a while, as he climbed out of Sam’s lap, and headed to the bedroom. He liked the couch just fine, but sometimes it was nice to lay out on Sam’s bed when he was getting fucked.

And that was what was going to happen. Sam was going to fuck him, and Steve loved it.

He positioned himself on the bed, kneeling so he was exposed. Sam’s desire was coursing through him, and this was what Steve had been missing. He’d enjoyed their sex so far, but _this_? Feeling Sam want him, and knowing he could feel Steve’s lust in return was such a turn on. Steve reached down and squeezed his cock at the base, needing to hold off on coming because the feeling was bringing him that close.

_**So gorgeous,**_ Sam was saying, and each word was said with such a feeling of love it made Steve want to scream in pleasure.

He canted his hips as Sam pressed his first finger against his hole. The pace had slowed since the couch, and Steve appreciated it. He liked the slow, tender feeling that was coursing through the Bond.

Sam’s finger felt good inside him.

It was even better when Sam gasped out loud. “Fuck. Is that supposed to happen?”

Steve hummed, taking a moment to catch up. Sam probably was feeling a phantom touch through the Bond. “Oh, you feel that?”

Sam groaned. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.” He didn’t stop moving his finger, though, pushing up to his knuckle and crooking his finger.

Steve gasped and clenched his hands in the sheets. “Happens. Yeah. It happens. I can-” He cut himself off as Sam added a second finger. “Stop it?”

“No, you don’t need to stop it,” Sam said. “Just would have liked a warning.” He pulled his hand out of Steve. “Shit like this they don’t teach in health class. Pleasure sharing is apparently a thing?”

Steve laughed, hips still moving despite his ass being empty. “I never had health class.”

_**You ready?**_ Sam asked, kissing his neck, as he rolled Steve onto his back.

Steve nodded, pulling Sam up for a kiss. _**I love you.**_

Sam hummed, grabbing his cock by the root, and angling it against Steve’s opening. He pressed in, and both of them gasped, feeling the dual sensation of mental and physical pleasure. Steve could feel Sam’s, and Sam could feel Steve’s, and it was... it was perfect.

He never wanted it to end.

Sam fucked into him harder, cock stretching him so much.

Steve groaned as he felt the pressure growing in the pit of his stomach, telling him he was close to coming. He reached down and gripped his cock, fucking his hand. He used a quick pace, because he knew he wasn’t going to last. Neither of them were.

Sam’s pace picked up, and Steve’s eyes widened as he felt Sam’s cock start to swell. That wasn't supposed to happen. Was Steve just so caught up in pleasure that he was imagining sensations? He bit off a groan in the meat of Sam’s shoulder, and Sam cursed, out loud and in his mind.

And then Steve realized, yes, Sam was knotting him.

His body clamped down instinctively on Sam’s cock, holding him inside as he started to come. Sam's knot continued to grow until they were locked together.

Sam cursed, body shivering.

Steve let out a laugh that broke off into a moan as he felt Sam pulse inside him, pressing his prostate and wringing another orgasm from him.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” Sam was saying as he tried to pull back.

“Don’t,” Steve warned, even as he felt the pull of the knot against his hole. “We’re knotted.” He was breathless, and he felt so full. It was insane.

_**We’re knotted,**_ he thought.

_**Holy shit.** _

Steve leaned up, pressing a kiss to Sam’s lips as he pulled him down to his chest. Sam shuddered, another orgasm wracking through his body. It made Steve shiver to feel more come pump into his body, and he pressed against the feeling.

“You’re gonna be the death of me, Steve.” Sam whined. “Never,” his body shuddered again.

_**Never knotted before?** _

_**No. Never.**_ He had tears streaming down his face, and Steve wiped them away.

_**It’s okay. I got you.** _

_**You better. You did this to me.**_ He didn’t sound bitter about it, and Steve pulled him into another kiss.

_**I love you.**_ Steve said, trying to push all his feelings through the Bond. God, the Bond. He had one again, and Sam felt beautiful, filling his entire head with light. _**I love you so much.**_

Sam shuddered again, whining as he tried to reciprocate, sending as much of his own love through the Bond. _**Love you too, Steve. Could stay like this forever.**_

Steve was walking a little funny the next day, and he didn’t care. They had had a second round that morning, just to test if it had been a fluke, and nope. Sam had knotted him again. Steve couldn’t believe it, and Sam had joked that researchers would have a blast explaining this one. Natasha noticed right away; her eyebrow was enough judgment that all he could say was, “shut up.”

Before she could say anything, an alarm went off, indicating they had a mission. She held up her finger. “Don’t think this is finished.”

“Of course not.”

Steve was glad he could still run, and he knew it would heal very soon. By the time he reached their destination he would be healed. He had been fine that morning before the sex, after all.

He took the jump seat across from the Soldier and Rumlow, and next to Natasha, and he rolled his eyes when she leaned over and whispered. “I hadn’t realized you bottomed.”

“There are some things I try to keep private,” he whispered, but there was no venom in his voice.

She grinned. “You can’t keep anything private from me. Sam is cute, by the way.” She winked. “A bit of a health freak, though, judging by his groceries.”

“You’re a stalker,” Steve said, laughing and settling into his seat. He looked at Rumlow with a smile. “So what’s the mission?”

That’s when he finally noticed the Soldier. He was sitting actually relaxed, legs sprawled apart instead of stiff in front of him. Even his metal arm looked lax. Steve wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“Good night?” Natasha asked, ignoring Rumlow’s side eye towards the Soldier.

He didn’t seem to care as he just nodded his head. “Very.”

Natasha tilted her head. “A-B-O?”

The Soldier held up two fingers. “Two As.”

Steve reached over and fist bumped the Soldier. “It’s good, right?” And he wasn’t just talking about the sex. He hoped the Soldier realized that. He was talking about the connection.

He liked to imagine the Soldier was smiling. “Yeah.”


	7. Chapter 7

Their latest date was not going well. It was a mix of things: the movie they chose had been pretty bad (Steve had found he enjoyed horror movies well enough, but gratuitous gore was too much for him), and then the walk to the restaurant after had been awkward because of that. Oh, there was also the fact that he and Sam were carrying on conversations that their date, a beta man, couldn’t hear.

It had only been a week since they had established their Bond, and as such they had spent an inordinate amount of time in each other’s heads. It was familiar – something Bucky and he had done all the time when they were on dates – and then something he, Bucky, and Peggy had done during briefings. The difference was – especially in comparison to Bucky – that Sam didn’t seem that interested in finding a third. Which was fine. Steve hadn’t felt the need to do so either; he had only been going about this because it was expected.

When Bucky and he had spoken to each other on dates, yeah, sometimes it was dismissive and about other things, but most times it was about the date. Bucky had wanted a third, and he’d wanted Steve to have a third, because he thought Steve was the greatest and everyone deserved to see it.

Sam didn’t feel the same way, and that was becomingly increasingly apparent with each date they went on.

So it wasn’t that much of a surprise to Steve when, as they were walking back to the car after they had said goodbye to their date, Sam cleared his throat.

“So, I’ve been thinking.”

“A dangerous pastime.”

Sam chuckled. “Man, I never should have shown you that.”

Steve grinned, and nudged Sam’s shoulder with his own. “So?”

Sam’s face dropped back to contemplative. “Well, just, these dates. I don’t know about you, but they don’t seem to be going that great.” Steve nodded. “And I mean, since we have…” _**we have this.**_ He dipped into Steve’s mind like he belonged there. _**I was wondering what’s the point? I’m happy. You seem happy. Maybe we’ll meet a third one day, but for now…**_

_**Okay.**_.

Sam looked at him. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” Steve grabbed Sam’s hand and squeezed. “Sam, I’m fine. You’re right. I’m happy with you. I’m happy with what we have. I don’t care that it’s not normal. Hell, I was in a dyad before."

"An A-O dyad, Steve. Little bit different."

"We still got a ton of shit for it. I wasn't exactly considered the shining example of alphas, especially for an omega like Bucky." Sam snorted in disbelief, but he let Steve keep talking. "So you and me? We can do that.”

Sam was nodding, a smile breaking out as Steve’s words sunk in. “You and me. I like that.”

Steve leaned forward and kissed Sam where they had stopped on the street corner, waiting for the crosswalk signal to change. “Come on. Let me take you home.”

He threw his arm over Sam’s shoulder, welcoming the feeling of his body pressed against his side. They were practically the same height, so Steve couldn’t press a kiss to the top of Sam’s head, so he settled for his temple. The gesture still made Sam smile, tucking himself closer.

He got them to the car, taking the keys from him. “I’ll drive.”

Sam grinned, sinking into the passenger seat. “You need me to point out the gear shift? It’s all automatic now, I hope you know.”

Steve rolled his eyes, closing his eyes. This was an old argument. “Automatic? That sounds fancy,” he said, getting behind the wheel. “Now how do these pedals work? Left is go and right is stop?” He made a big show of orienting himself as Sam laughed.

“You’re a real comedian, Rogers. Just drive us home.”

“Bossy,” Steve said, dropping the act as he backed up and pulled out the parking spot.

“I’ll show you bossy,” Sam said, shutting his eyes.

“Oh yeah?” Steve asked. _**Gonna put me in my place when we get home?**_

Sam smirked. _**Yeah. Yeah, I think I will.**_

Steve shivered with anticipation. One of the things he loved about sex with Sam was how unafraid Sam was to take control. He didn’t look at Steve and see someone he had to kowtow to. He followed his own desires, and if it got a little rough and dirty sometimes, well, that was alpha sex, really.

“You keep thinking those thoughts at me and I will not be responsible for my actions.”

Steve glanced at him and the way he was gripping his knee. “Oh? What kind of actions are we talking about?”

Sam hummed, cracking one eye open. He didn’t answer verbally, just let his right hand drift from his knee up to his crotch. He sucked in a breath and Steve snapped his eyes back to the road.

_**You make me hard,**_ Sam thought, and Steve couldn’t help but dart his eyes back to watching Sam.

He could see the outline of his dick, made more obvious by the way Sam was stroking it through the fabric of his pants. Sam gripped his cock, kneading the heel of his palm against it as he moved his hips.

Steve tore his eyes away and focused on the road. Beside him Sam let out a positively sinful sound.

Steve gripped the steering wheel, his throat dry, and turned off the main road to take the back roads to their house. It was dark outside, but there was still a chance someone could see, and he didn’t want Sam to _stop_.

The zipper coming down was obscenely loud. Steve looked over when he stopped at an intersection as Sam licked his palm, getting it wet before wrapping his hand around his cock.

“Sam…” Steve breathed out.

_**You can see this just fine, can’t you?**_ Sam asked, biting his lips as he kept stroking himself.

“Yeah…” Steve’s eyes were almost entirely on Sam, and he was smart to have taken the back roads. No one to run into when he drifted. He swallowed. “We’re uh, we’re almost home. If you want to finish with me.”

Sam shook his head, thumbing the slit of his cock where some pre-come was beading at the tip. _**Need to be relaxed for what I want from you.**_

Steve’s cock was instantly hard because that was… Sam hadn’t been the bottom yet, not that Steve minded. He couldn’t be insinuating that, right? “Sam?” He asked, voice cracking, but he didn’t care.

_**Think you can fuck me?** _

Steve finally was on their street, and he waited to answer until he had pulled into the garage Sam shared with their neighbors. He parked and then immediately leaned over to swallow Sam’s moan. His hand dropped to cover Sam’s hand, following him as he jacked off.

“Yes,” he said aloud in between kisses. “Whatever you want.”

Sam’s breath caught as his hand faltered, spilling over both of their hands as he came. Steve kissed him through it.

They broke apart, Sam panting heavily, and Steve raised his hand to his mouth, licking the come off. _**Let’s get inside?**_

Sam groaned, looking a debauched mess with his cock still hanging out, and his lips swollen from kisses. He nodded though, pulling himself together enough to do up his jeans and get into the house.

Steve locked the door behind them. _**Wanna take a shower, before? It would help you relax.**_

Sam nodded. _**Yeah… lemme just get ready.**_ He hovered near the hallway, suddenly looking nervous. “I’ve never done this before. Just a, uh, heads up.”

Steve relaxed, sending calm and reassurance over the Bond and making sure none of his spiking nerves transferred. “Well I've had it done to me many times so I’ll make it good for you.”

Sam quirked his head. "Am I reading in between the lines correctly? You've never topped during anal before?"

Steve burst out laughing. "Well when you put it like that..." Sam waggled his eyebrows. "No, I've never done this either, for a variety of reasons. But that doesn't mean I can't make this good for you."

Sam smiled, nervousness leaking from every pore. “I trust you.”

“You need any help?”

Sam shook his head. “I got this.” He walked into the ensuite bathroom, shutting the door.

Steve spent the time Sam was getting ready grabbing the lube, undressing, and checking his phone to make sure they wouldn’t be interrupted. He also set Sam’s phone on silent, putting both of them on the bedside table.

And then he sat on the edge of the bed, and waited.

Which felt ridiculous, but Steve didn’t feel comfortable doing anything as a tease. Not when Sam was so nervous.

He looked up when he heard the bathroom door open, and Sam came into the room with a towel wrapped around his hips. He was gorgeous, dark skin glistening from the water he hadn’t managed to towel off. Steve felt incredibly out of place sitting across from him naked and exposed.

“Man, even my first time wasn’t this awkward,” Sam said, trying to break the tension.

Steve got a flash reminder of all his first times: bottoming to Bucky, then topping Bucky, and then the first time with a third. All three had ended up with Steve not being able to come, and passing out. “Mine were. But I was young and didn’t really understand how my body worked yet.”

Sam’s eyebrows climbed up. “Oh, really? How young are we talking? Did Captain America partake in pre-teen sex? Is this something I have clearance for?”

Steve burst out laughing. “Not that young. Sam, I was at least fifteen, which was normal-ish back then. I swear!” He held out his hand. _**Come here,**_ he said, hoping it would distract Sam from the topic at hand.

Sam took a step forward, grasping Steve’s hand. Steve gave him a tug, and Sam followed, allowing Steve to get him on the bed, and on his hands and knees.

_**Don’t want you complaining about your old man knees,**_ Steve said. He saw Sam flip him the middle finger and he chuckled, urging Sam to move up the bed as he climbed on behind him.

Sam’s back was tense, any calm he got from the earlier orgasm and shower completely gone. Steve rubbed his lower back, trying to undo the knots of tension.

Slowly Sam began to relax, arms going lax as he dropped from his hands to his forearms, pushing his hips invitingly towards Steve. Steve worked his hands back to Sam’s ass, savouring the warmth of his skin.

Sam was breathing calmly, so content under Steve’s hands that it took a moment for him to tense when Steve placed his hands on the meat of Sam’s ass.

“Did I ever tell you why I stopped and asked you out that day?” Steve asked, hoping it would distract Sam as he massaged his ass, teasing at pulling his cheeks apart.

“I always assumed it was my chiseled masculinity, charming wit, and musical recommendations,” Sam said, breath coming out in pants. He was still tensing up though, and Steve hoped to relax him soon.

Eating Sam out generally had that effect.

He laughed, running his thumb behind Sam’s balls and up, grazing past his hole to get him used to it. Sam let out a gasp and his muscles clenched. Steve continued rubbing, moving his hands up to the dip of his lower back and then back down.

“Close, but no.” Sam was relaxing again and this time when Steve spread his cheeks he didn’t tense as much. “I stopped because I thought you had a nice butt.”

Sam let out a surprised laugh, and burying his face in the pillow he had pulled underneath him. “Booty like pooow,” he said into the pillow, and Steve rolled his eyes, pressing his thumb lightly against the cleft of Sam’s hole, causing him to gasp.

“Just wanted you to know I’ve been wanting to get my hands on this for almost five months now.”

Sam let out a breathless moan and he nodded his head. “Okay… Damn.”

Steve snorted, before he leaned down, kissing Sam’s tailbone, and then moving down, skimming past the tight ring of muscles, towards his balls. He may have done this to Sam many times before, but he wanted to go slow tonight. Sam jolted and Steve paused. _**Okay?**_

_**Stupid virgin moment. Please just dive right in like you usually do.** _

Steve paused for one more moment before following Sam’s request, pressing the flat of his tongue right above Sam’s balls and dragging his tongue up to his tailbone.

He held Sam open as he licked at him, not sticking his tongue in yet. He wanted to get Sam nice and wet and relaxed first. Sam shivered underneath him, hips starting to rock into Steve’s mouth. He was loosening up, and Steve gave a tentative dip of his tongue inside Sam’s body. He groaned, pushing his hips back as Steve pushed his tongue into him.

He slipped his thumb down, pressing it against the opening. Sam grunted as Steve pulled his tongue away, replacing it with his thumb.

_**Still with me?** _

Sam moaned. _**I’m good. Keep that up though.**_

Steve pressed his mouth back to Sam ass, using his tongue and finger in tandem to open him up more.

Sam was a moaning mess beneath him, coming undone with each press of Steve’s tongue. It was wonderful to feel, and even better to be the cause of it.

Steve knew if he reached around Sam’s cock would be hard again, but he resisted the urge. He pulled back, looking at the work he had done so far. Sam’s hole had started to open, and as Steve pushed his thumb against the rim it sunk easily inside Sam.

Steve grabbed the lube with his unoccupied hand, letting go of one ass cheek.

Sam groaned. _**Are you?**_

_**Relax,**_ Steve said, uncapping the lube. The click filled the room but Steve refused to let Sam tense back up, kissing whatever skin he could find. He pulled both hands back, pouring some lube into the palm of his right hand. Sam was trying to calm his breathing, and Steve took a moment to admire him.

_**Steve, get on with it,**_ Sam said, the Bond screaming desperation.

Steve paused. _**If you’re still nervous we can stop.**_

_**Not nervous just…**_ He shifted his hips. _**It felt good, okay? Want you back in me.**_

Steve laughed and put his clean hand on Sam’s hips, using his fingers to pull him apart again.

Sam whined at the first touch of Steve’s lubed fingers pushing inside, but he was relaxed enough that the finger entered him smoothly. Steve watched as his finger went all the way to his bottom knuckle with one push.

_**Good?**_ He asked.

Sam gasped, nodding and pushing all his want towards Steve. _**Gimme more.**_

Steve pulled his finger back, adding a second one. Sam was tight and Steve was careful scissoring his fingers.

Steve took his time, working Sam up, and he made sure there was only minor discomfort. Sam spent the time under him loving every second of the finger fucking, relaxing so perfectly after getting over his nerves. He even whined when Steve pulled all three of his fingers out once he deemed Sam ready.

He took his cock in his hand, pressing the tip against the rim.

“I swear to Christ Rogers if you ask me if I’m okay I will flip our positions and ride you into the sunset,” Sam said, insistently pushing his hips back.

Steve laughed, and then sunk into Sam’s body. It was tight, tighter than Steve was prepared for, but he didn’t let himself pause. Not with the way Sam was trying to fuck himself back on Steve’s cock until the whole thing was inside him. And then Sam gave him the slip, pulling his hips forward, and pushing back.

Steve groaned, trying to get a grip on Sam so he could actually control the rhythm, but Sam was too far gone. Steve was just along for the ride as Sam rocked his hips back and forth. He was able to watch his cock slide in and out of Sam, though, feeling Sam’s body tighten around him as he got more and more frantic.

“Shit, shit,” Sam was cursing aloud and in Steve’s head as he worked himself closer and closer to orgasm.

Steve felt the tug at the pit of his stomach, saw the way his cock was starting to knot and he groaned, dropping his hand from Sam’s hip to his cock.

“Sam,” he moaned, trying to regain control. “Need to pull out.”

Sam whined, burying his face in the pillow as Steve started fisting his hand tight around Sam’s dick. He knew he was close, and Steve just needed to hold off until Sam came, and then he would come. He wasn’t going to knot inside him.

Sam clenched around him as his body seized up and it took all of Steve’s control not to slam back in.

He pulled out, gripping the base of his cock right beneath the knot as he came in spurts across Sam’s back. He heard Sam let out a rush of air, his body collapsing on the bed. Steve wasn’t too far behind him.

“Holy fuck,” Sam managed to gasp out, pulling Steve up to him on the bed, so he could kiss him. “We need to do that again.”

Steve laughed, nodding his head as he kissed Sam. “Love you.”

“I love you too.”

Steve dropped down beside Natasha in the locker room, looking around before he turned to her. She was looking at him with an arched eyebrow. “Sam and I have decided to go ahead as a dyad.”

She blinked, and he could see she was trying not to smirk. “Okay. Do you want a cookie for being even more of a freak?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “I just wanted you to know so you’d stop with the dates.”

Natasha grinned, waving. “I stopped being serious after Sonya.”

Steve stared. “But she was the first.”

Natasha shrugged. “I realized you probably weren’t going to find a third. You said so yourself that you didn’t think you’d find someone else to connect with, but since you weren’t openly complaining, I figured you and Sam were getting something out of the dates.” Steve pulled away from her, shaking his head.

He watched as she wrapped her hands in tape, flexing to check the tightness. “You and Clint get along alright, though? Just the two of you?”

“We aren’t just the two of us.”

“What?”

Natasha tilted her head, but her face didn’t give anything away. “Clint met someone while he was on his mission, and over the weekend I met up with them. She’s sweet.”

Steve just stared. He hadn’t been expecting that. “What?” He asked again, because this was unexpected.

“She’s sweet. She’s the intern to an astrophysicist that has worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. in the past.”

“Dr. Selvig?”

“Right idea, different astrophysicist,” Natasha said, standing. “Clint’s with her in London. So you wanna come get your ass kicked?”

Steve stood up, opening his locker. “Give me a moment to get changed.” He was aware that Natasha continued to stare at him as he pulled off the polo he was wearing to change his shirt, and he just sighed when she made a noise in her throat.

“Didn’t realize you had been given an Army shirt.”

“It’s Sam’s,” he said, pulling on his track pants while she was distracted with conversation. Her head still tilted to the side to follow his movements though, and it didn’t make him feel any better.

She snorted. “Mixing laundry? That’s domestic.”

Steve paused. “I didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I moved in.” Natasha’s eyebrows shot up. “Not officially. I still have my S.H.I.E.L.D. apartment but,” he shrugged, playing nonchalance while internally he was doing a victory dance at getting one over on her. “I was spending most days there anyway.”

He didn’t know what he was expecting, but Natasha breaking into a huge grin and standing, slapping him on the back, was not it. “That’s great, Steve.”

“What? No lecture?”

“No. Just happy for you. You deserve it. Now come on, I need to pin you to a mat. I think I’m starting to shake from withdrawal.”

“Ha ha,” Steve said. He thought about telling her about the Bond, since she was so receptive to everything else, but he hesitated. He knew if S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about the Bond they would want to find out more about Sam, and Steve wasn’t ready to share that yet. Better for S.H.I.E.L.D. to think he was just in a dyad relationship.

He followed Natasha towards the gym, which was mostly empty. There were two agents by the free weights, and in the corner by the kickboxing bag was the Soldier. Alone.

That surprised Steve, since he had never seen the Soldier unsupervised, but he supposed Rumlow couldn’t be with him one hundred percent of the time. And if the Soldier was free enough to have sex then he could definitely go about his own business. The Soldier didn’t look up from where he was practicing with the bag, so Steve just headed into the ring with Natasha.

They didn’t need to speak as they began to spar. They started easy, with just punches that were easy to dodge, but after warming up Natasha became more aggressive, so Steve retaliated in kind.

He learned a lot fighting Natasha, since she had more formal training than him. He could hold his own in most fights on instinct alone, but Natasha always showed him the finer points.

He was almost working up a sweat by the time they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

Steve turned to see Nick Fury standing outside the ring, dressed as he always was in his trenchcoat.

“Director,” Steve said, untangling Natasha’s thighs from around his neck.

Once she was back on her feet, Natasha said her own hellos.

“I need Agent Romanov.”

“Sir?” She asked, looking at Steve.

Steve had never been separated from both Natasha and Clint at the same time. So he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “is there anything I can do?”

Fury shook his head. “No need, Cap.” His eye traveled over to where the Soldier was still kickboxing. Steve hadn’t been paying attention but he had to admire the guy’s stamina. “How’s the team coming along, by the way?”

“Fine, sir. Can’t wait to have Clint back, though.”

“Agent Barton will be back soon. And Winter Soldier?”

“He’s everything I’ve been told he would be.”

“Excellent.” Fury gave a half smile, the one that Steve personally thought of as his ‘Director Smile’. “Romanov, with me. We’ll see each other later, Captain.”

“Of course.” Steve didn’t bother to say goodbye to Natasha; she didn't like them, but he did return the smile she sent him.

“What’s the mission, sir?” Natasha asked, once they got to the door, and presumably out of Steve’s hearing.

“Nothing too big. You’re just helping establish Agent Barton’s cover in Kiev. You’ll be back before the end of the week.”

The door shut, cutting Steve off from the rest of their conversation. He sighed. He really hoped he didn’t get called on a mission until then. It looked like he’d be without Clint for even longer then.

“Where’s the Widow off to?”

Steve turned to see the Soldier leaning against the edge of the ring, both hands gripping the ropes. “She got called to a mission. She’ll be back by the end of the week.”

He couldn’t see the Soldier’s face change expression, didn’t even realize that it had until he spoke, mechanical voice filled with awe. “You could hear the conversation. From all the way over there.”

Steve looked to where Natasha and Fury had been standing, and yeah, it was a good distance from the ring. “Super soldier?”

The Soldier climbed into the ring, body graceful as he maneuvered through the ropes. “Do you mind?” He gestured with his hand, but Steve didn’t know what he was trying to say, so he just shrugged.

“Free country.”

The Soldier turned his head to look around the gym, but they were alone. He then raised his hand to his face, pulling the goggles off. Steve stared, not expecting that. He watched as the Soldier put the goggles on the edge of the ring, and then looked up at him.

All that had done was expose his eyes; the mask still covered his nose, mouth, and cheeks, but Steve could finally see some expression. The Soldier had bright blue eyes that were darting around the room, taking in his surroundings. Steve wondered if it was his first time removing them in public.

“I want to see if I can still do this without the sensors running,” the Soldier said, looking at Steve finally. His gaze was sharp, but friendly. Now that Steve could finally see _something_ he could tell that the Soldier was unsure. This was definitely against the rules, but Steve thought he understood what the Soldier wanted.

He nodded, gesturing for the Soldier to step up. “I’m not going to go easy on you like last time.”

The Soldier’s eyes crinkled, which Steve realized meant he was smiling, and it hit him in the gut that the guy was definitely not some robot. He was a living, breathing man.

“Of course not, Captain.” The Soldier dropped into position, body turned to the side, before he launched himself at Steve.

He used a different style than last time; it was more like taekwondo than boxing, and Steve wasn’t expecting it. Getting kicked in the head was not what he had been planning for, and he had to be quick to dodge each kick. He was put on the back foot immediately, but he hoped that with the Soldier's eyes visible he would be able to spot a tell.

The Soldier’s eyes were dancing with delight with each blow they exchanged, and it was distracting. Seeing the Soldier having fun was antithetical to what he had come to expect in the last two months. But Steve could still use the Soldier's eyes to his advantage. He could see where the Soldier was looking now, and it allowed him to anticipate his movements.

He caught the Soldier’s left wrist and flipped him, using more strength than he normally would, since he trusted the arm to handle it.

The Soldier winced in pain as the wind was knocked out of him, but his eyes snapped open almost immediately, and he grabbed hold of Steve’s ankle.

Steve didn’t have time to brace himself as the Soldier brought him to the ground. His head hit the mat painfully, and Steve took a moment to catch his breath.

_**Man, even I felt that.** _

Steve couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up. _**Sorry.**_ He opened his eyes to watch the Soldier stand.

_**You getting your ass kicked in training or something?** _

_**Or something,**_ Steve thought back to Sam as he took the offered hand from the Soldier. _**Got knocked to the ground by my sparring partner.**_

Sam’s response came in the middle of Steve finally getting the advantage over the Soldier, up until the Soldier grabbed him with his left hand.

_**You should try staying on your feet. I hear that’s a good move.** _

Steve grunted as he tried to break out of the Soldier’s grip, but he couldn’t. The Soldier was smiling at him again, eyes crinkled as he watched Steve try and overpower the arm.

_**I hate mechanical arms,**_ he thought as he put all his weight into throwing himself backwards, hoping it would catch the Soldier off guard.

It did.

The Soldier slipped, and Steve used his momentum to throw him over his head, and onto his back.

The Soldier grunted, and Steve scrambled to pin him, knees going to hold his shoulders down. He let out a breath as the Soldier went limp beneath him.

_**Pinned him.** _

_**Good job, Nala.** _

Steve frowned, looking down at the Soldier. _**Nala?**_

He felt Sam laugh inside his mind, while the Soldier’s eyebrow went up. “You’re doing the face thing again.”

“Huh?” Steve asked, while he waited for Sam to reply.

The Soldier’s shoulder twitched under Steve’s knee and he stood up, letting the Soldier go. He gestured to his face. “The face thing, where you go away. You were doing it. Thinking about your partner?”

Steve felt himself flush and he ducked his head. “Talking, actually.” He didn’t know why he said it, since he hadn’t told anyone yet, but he knew the Soldier wouldn’t tell anyone, either.

“Talking?”

_**It’s the Lion King. Which we are still not watching. It's too emotionally compromising,**_ Sam thought at him, pushing a rush of emotions at Steve that made him smile.

“Yeah. We’re Bonded. So we talk.”

The Soldier’s eyes narrowed in thought. Steve watched, focusing on the pleasant hum of Sam in the front of his mind while he waited for the Soldier to speak. “I’m not sure if I’m offended or impressed that you weren’t putting all your focus into this,” he finally said.

Steve laughed. “It wasn’t like that. He felt it when you dropped me to the ground, so he was just checking that I was alright.”

“Seems dangerous,” the Soldier said. “If he can feel your pain.”

Steve had thought the same, back before, when Bucky went to boot camp, and was then shipped overseas, but he’d learned since then. “He won’t always. Feeling pain like that is tied to proximity. When we’re on a mission he won’t feel anything, since we’ll be so far away, so I don’t need to worry about it then. And I could block it, if I wanted.”

“But you don’t.”

“No.”

The Soldier looked at him, eyes going distant for a moment, but then he nodded. “Want to go for another round?

“I promise not to be distracted this time.”

The Soldier smiled again, right before he threw a kick at Steve’s face.


	8. Chapter 8

Steve hadn’t thought their spar had changed much between them, but it appeared the Soldier had different feelings on the matter, because he dropped into the seat across from Steve in S.H.I.E.L.D’s cafeteria the next day. It was mid-afternoon, so the cafeteria only had a smattering of people, all of whom gave Steve a wide berth because they didn’t know how to interact with him.

That suited Steve just fine, and usually allowed his mind to wander, and trace over the Bond.

The Soldier didn’t seem to be scared about talking with him, with the way he sat down casually, removing his goggles again and putting them down. Steve wondered what would happen if someone saw that he had done that, but if the Soldier didn’t mind, then Steve wasn’t going to correct him.

It was still strange to see him there. Especially leaning forward like he wanted to start talking. Steve thought it might have been easier if the Soldier just wanted to sit and stare at him. That seemed more in character with what Steve had seen. But.... then again. Maybe it wasn't. The Soldier, after all, was still a person. There was a good chance he hadn't had anyone to connect to yet, and Steve was the first one he felt like he could. 

That was a thought.

“You know, if I’m gonna talk to you I’d like to know your name so I don’t have to keep referring to you as ‘the Soldier’,” Steve said, before the Soldier could say anything about why he was here.

The Soldier didn’t laugh, the way Steve thought he would. Instead his eyes just narrowed in thought, before he ducked his head. “I don’t actually know my name.” The mechanical voice didn’t have great volume control, so Steve could hear what he said just fine, even though he was sure the Soldier was whispering behind the mask.

“You don’t know your name?”

“I got amnesia from the explosion, same one that took my arm,” the Soldier said, and Steve blinked.

That sort of made sense, except, “But it’s not complete amnesia? You still have all of your training.”

“Muscle memory is a great thing,” the Soldier said. “But since I’ll be given a whole new identity after all of this there is no point in telling me my past.”

Steve couldn’t help the way his face contorted in displeasure. “So do you like being called ‘the Soldier’?”

“No,” he said. “How about John? For John Doe. That’s what they call unidentified people, right?”

That thought made Steve’s stomach roil. No wonder he hadn't tried and be anything but an anonymous soldier. He had no idea who he was. Steve held out his hand to shake John’s hand. “Pleased to meet you, John.”

“You too, Captain.” John pulled his hand back. “I came over here for a reason, though.”

“Want me to beat you again?”

John’s eyes crinkled. “I was thinking we go for a run.”

“You can go outside?” Steve asked.

John’s smile didn’t drop. “Of course not, but there’s an indoor track in the basement, and I figure we could set up hurdles to help simulate obstacles and what not.”

Steve had never been to the track John was talking about, since if he and Natasha wanted to train with debris they went for a run outside in the woods, but that wasn’t possible for John, so it made sense that he used an indoor facility.

There were agents running the track, which Steve personally thought was excessively large. It must have been one of the bottom floors in the Triskelion, and therefore was able to take up the entire square footage of the building. It was also unnerving because there was no natural light coming in.

John went over to the equipment wall, and Steve followed to help him carry as many hurdles as they could. Between Steve’s strength and John’s own arm they had grabbed all but two.

They were silent as they set up the hurdles at different points on the track, adjusting the heights so they varied. Since there weren’t that many people they were able to take up four of the seven lanes, two lanes being clear of hurdles, and the other two filled with them.

Once they were finished they both went to the starting line, and on John’s signal they began running. They did the first lap at a slow jog in the empty lanes, Steve keeping pace with John. When they crossed the start line again they swerved into the hurdle lanes, and began to tackle them.

“So you don’t remember anything?” Steve asked, as they approached the first hurdle, set to hip height.

John jumped over the hurdle before he answered. “I remember being in a war. I don’t remember the specifics, but I remember the feeling. I remember my squad, and how it was like home. I remember our commander; he protected us and I trusted him with my life. So I don’t remember what I did, but I think I’ve got the important stuff down.”

Steve was impressed. He didn’t sound out of breath, but it was probably the mask.

“I think I remember a bomb. Or at least. I remember being thrown, and lots of falling.” John kept talking as they cleared the second, third, and fourth hurdles, which were set up one after another.

Steve had to admire John’s form. Memory loss or not, his body definitely remembered being trained.

“You don’t need to take it slow on my account, you know,” John said as they rounded the final corner, and the last of the hurdles.

“Next lap,” Steve promised.

“I look forward to seeing your full speed,” John said.

The last hurdles were the highest, and Steve watched as John put more speed into his run, leaping over the hurdle. He hit the ground wrong on his left foot, Steve could tell, and John must have as well, because he immediately compensated, shifting his weight to the other side of his body, tucking and rolling a couple yards before he came back to his feet.

Steve slowed to a stop right before his own hurdle, torn between clapping and concern.

John spun, holding up his hands in victory. “I meant to do that.”

Steve stared at him, standing there wearing the Kevlar uniform he was always in, and the facemask, and he couldn’t help it. He laughed.

“Sure you did.”

John raised his middle finger. “Come on, you jerk, let’s see you run this whole course, full speed.”

Steve grinned, and took a few steps back so he had a running start. He cleared his own hurdle with ease, and he continued on, running full tilt. As he passed by John he muttered, “on your left,” and John was still laughing by the time he completed the lap, a few seconds later.

Steve surprised Sam on Friday by showing up at his work right before he got off. Sam had known something was up, since he kept asking Steve why he felt so giddy all afternoon, but he still looked pleasantly surprised when he stepped out of his office to see Steve leaning over the front desk, helping Maddie staple pamphlets, and catching up on news about Kate, who Maddie and her girlfriend were seeing semi-casually now.

“Look at you, being all helpful,” Sam teased.

Steve smiled, stapling his last pamphlet. “Just doing my part to help the good people of the VA.”

“You’re sweet,” Sam said, as he pulled Steve in for a kiss. When they broke apart Sam said his goodbyes to Maddie, who was trying to suppress her giggles over how cute they were.

“I think we almost gave her heart palpitations,” Steve said, holding Sam’s hand as they walked to his car.

“Nah,” Sam drew the word out. “She’s a strong soul. High constitution. She rolls a barbarian.”

“I’m going to pretend I understand that reference,” Steve said as he climbed into the passenger seat of the car. “I was thinking we stay in tonight?”

“Hell yeah we’re staying in tonight. First night you’re home and we don’t have a date? We are ordering pizza and catching up on The Voice.” Sam smirked. “I’ve been DVR’ing it for you."

Steve laughed, reaching over and putting his hand on Sam’s thigh. “You’re the best.”

“So how was your day?” Sam asked. “I didn’t feel you getting excited like you were jumping off of buildings, so I’m assuming you were doing paperwork all day.”

“Well, Natasha is out of the country, so I can’t get in quite as much trouble as normal,” Steve allowed. “I’ve just been training. John keeps me on my toes.”

“That cyborg arm probably helps,” Sam said. Steve had told him about John earlier in the week, from how he suffered from amnesia to the fact that he could keep pace with Steve in a way even Natasha or Clint couldn’t match to how lonely it must have been, no memory of who he was. “You been able to beat him in arm wrestling yet?”

“We don’t talk about that,” Steve said. 

“I know I’m not supposed to know these guys, but once this dude finishes his service you have got to bring him over. If only so I can see you arm wrestle someone and lose.”

“As long as you cheer for me.”

Sam laughed, kissing Steve’s cheek at the stop light. “I don’t know. I don’t like losers. John might win me over.”

“Ha ha,” Steve said, but he felt the sincerity in Sam’s words through the Bond. “Wait, I thought we were just doing this… us?”

Sam nodded. “We are. But dinner never hurt no one, and this guy could probably do with a warm meal as thanks for watching your back.”

“You never asked Nat or Clint to come over.”

“I’m worried that if I feed an Avenger more will pop up.”

“If you give an Avenger a cookie, they’ll tell their other friends and you’ll be stuck cooking for too many superheroes.” 

Sam barked out a laugh. “Where in the hell did you read that?”

“I saw the book you got for one of the kids’ birthdays,” Steve said, because it had been left out on the bed earlier in the month and he’d been curious about what it was.

“Oh yeah, it’s for Josh’s kids: Luke and uh… fuck.”

“Gabe?” Steve asked, because he had only heard Sam mention a couple of his niblings by name. He’d probably need a chart.

"Gabby. Ze prefers Gabby, so Gabby it is. I need to mail that. I’m pretty sure I’m like three weeks late by now.”

“Already got you covered,” Steve said. “Dropped it off the day after I found it. Figured you’d forgotten. And the card for your sister-in-law.”

“You always got my back,” Sam said, voice in a little bit of awe.

He closed his eyes and leaned back in his head, skimming over the surface thoughts Sam was sending him. He didn't seem to really be interested in television tonight, preferring to watch a movie. _**What movie are we going to watch?**_

“What happened to reality television?” Sam asked, and then he chuckled, probably because he realized what Steve had been doing. “I was thinking we watch 'The Fifth Element'. It was on your list, right?”

_**Clint recommended it, yes.**_ Steve liked that Sam had no problem answering his telepathic questions out loud. It helped emphasize how fluid the entire thing was.

“And we’ll order a couple pizzas from down the street, maybe get those cannolis with the chocolate chips you like so much.”

“Me? I’m not the one sneaking out of bed to eat the last one at three in the morning.”

Steve soaked up the feeling of warmth Sam was pushing directly at him as they got closer to home. “And you wouldn’t have caught me if you weren’t up to sneak into the kitchen to do it yourself.”

“I woke up because you weren’t there!” Steve laughed as Sam waved his hand dismissively.

“I know what I felt. You wanted the cannoli and I had to take evasive measures to ensure that I got it first.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I thought I was the best?”

“You’re the best at being ridiculous.” Steve squeezed Sam’s knee. _**I love you.**_

_**I love you too,**_ Sam said, and the love he was pushing towards Steve only emphasized his words.

Steve and Sam didn’t always run in the morning together, mostly because it was impossible for Steve to get a full workout if he kept to Sam’s pace, and also, sometimes it felt easier to lay in bed if they wanted to spend time together. But after a weekend of lazy sex, and probably too much takeout, Steve decided he would run with Sam on Monday morning. They took their normal course, running all the way down to the National Mall. Steve did it a few more times than Sam, but by the time they met at the end, under a tree near the Capitol, both of them were out of breath.

“Good to see there are other things that can get you sweaty and out of breath besides me,” Sam said with a grin.

Steve smirked, taking a step closer to Sam in case he needed a shoulder to lean on. “You cramping?”

“I’m good. I will need a water. And maybe a pastry.”

“I’ll take you to that coffee shop you like,” Steve said, just as his phone chirped. He frowned, picking it out of his pocket.

_Incoming. :)_

A text from Natasha. Steve hadn’t known she had gotten back from her other mission.

Sam stood upright, taking a step away from Steve. “Duty calls?”

“Guess so,” Steve said, looking down the street to see her car pulling up.

Natasha rolled the window down, smirking. “Hey, fellas. Either of you know where the Smithsonian is? I need to pick up a fossil.”

Steve rolled his eyes. _**See what I deal with?**_

Sam grinned, following him to Natasha’s car. _**You like being teased. It’s how you know we care.**_

Steve climbed into the car, leaning out the window to kiss Sam goodbye.

“I’ll have him back in time for dinner,” Natasha said with a wave.

Sam nodded at her. “I trust you will. Sam Wilson,” he said, reaching over Steve to shake her hand.

“Natasha. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Same,” Sam said, and Steve was a little unnerved with the way the two of them were grinning at each other.

“Why do I feel like I’ve made a mistake?”

“Cause you’re a coward,” Natasha said. “He’ll be back in one piece.”

“And I’m sure the world will be a safer place.” Sam gave Steve one more quick kiss, before he stepped away, and Natasha drove off.

“How was Clint?” Steve asked.

“Alive. His cover has been established.”

“Does he have an ETA for when he’ll be back?”

“Do we ever?” Natasha asked. “Why are you so concerned?”

Steve shrugged. “Just thinking about what we’ll do once John is done with his service if Clint isn’t back. I’m going to hate learning a new sniper.”

Natasha cut a look at him. “John?”

“Yeah. Uh, Winter Soldier?”

“You call Winter Soldier John?” Natasha laughed. “Those baby blues really can get state secrets.”

Steve snorted. “It’s not his real name. He has amnesia, and doesn’t remember his real name, and since he’ll be given a new identity when he’s paid back his arm,” he shrugged. “No need to remember it.”

Natasha looked contemplative, lips pursed. “You know, I had heard whispers that the two of you had gotten close while I was gone, but I hadn’t actually believed it.”

“Whispers?” Steve laughed. “What, like you have a network keeping tabs on me?”

“Of course I do. How else would I know what you were up to while I wasn’t babysitting you?” She took a sharp left turn as the light turned green, and Steve held on for dear life as he stared at oncoming traffic. “Is it true you’ve seen his face?”

“No. Except, well, he took off his goggles.”

“Un-be-lievable. You got a Winter Soldier to break the most important rule.”

“It was all him, actually. The goggles constantly run diagnostics on the area, and he wanted to try his skills without all the distractions.” She was right, though; John had removed his goggles every time they were together that past week. It didn’t give Steve much to go on as to what he looked like, but he could read John better now. He knew he could be expressive, and what his tells were when he was annoyed, frustrated, and amused.

He hoped it would be able to translate with the facemask on.

Natasha pulled into the Triskelion parking lot and looked right at Steve after she put the car in park. “You should ask him out.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Really? This again?”

“You obviously like him. And he obviously likes you.”

Steve opened the door to the car and stepped out. “Come on, Nat.” He didn’t turn to see if she was going to follow him, because he could hear the car door shut.

“I’m just saying,” Natasha said as she fell into step with him. “He’s caught your eye, which is more than any of the people I’ve set you up with. Meanwhile, he'd been with us for what? A month and a half, and he's decided now to be all buddy-buddy with you? He wants your knot. And he’s apparently been with two alphas, so he'll be able to take it.”

Steve’s stomach lurched, not because of Natasha's crude sentence. He was used to that. But the idea of John with two alphas. He hadn’t forgotten that, exactly, but it still didn’t make much sense. He had no idea how John had been able to be with anyone, and if he thought too much about it his head began to spin.

“No,” Steve said, as they walked into the building, and headed for the elevator. He hoped it was authoritative enough. Luckily before Natasha could respond, Fury cut them off.

“I need you two ready in ten minutes to board a plane," he said, sweeping through the lobby.

“Yes, sir,” Steve and Natasha said in unison, both breaking into a brisk run to their lockers.

Natasha stayed quiet as they got themselves together, and met the rest of the team in the hanger to board the plane. Rumlow was pacing outside the hatch door.

“We’ll brief on board,” Steve said as he walked past Rumlow and into the plane. John was already seated in one of the jump seats, and he inclined his head towards Steve in acknowledgement.

“Widow,” he said, nodding to Natasha as well.

“Soldier,” she said with a smirk, holding out her hand to fist bump him. Her eyes darted to Steve as John stood to follow Steve towards the computer setup, but Steve ignored her.

“We’ve got a possible hostage situation in the Indian Ocean. Agents reported seeing unidentified ships on radar. Might be nothing, but we are en route just in case it turns into something,” Rumlow said as he came up behind Steve.

“When will we know that it’s been turned into a hostage situation?” Steve asked.

“The moment it happens,” Rumlow assured him. “And if it is, we’ll be prepared.”

Steve nodded. “Keep me updated.” He stepped away from the computer setup, and Natasha and John followed him.

Take off was rough, but the plane traveled quickly. It was roughly two hours into the journey, as they had just passed over Norway, that they got confirmation that the ship had been taken hostage.

“We’re almost 90 minutes out,” Rumlow called back to Steve. “I’ll give you the latest information once we get closer.”

Steve leaned back in his jump seat, where he was sitting between Natasha and John, both of whom were silently cleaning their weapons. It probably should have disturbed him, but the two of them were so methodical it was almost soothing.

“You should try and polish the shield,” John said. “It’ll stop you from being so twitchy.”

“Interns do it,” Natasha said.

“Interns do not polish my shield, Nat,” Steve said. “And my shield doesn’t need much polishing. The material is pretty dirt proof.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, only the sound of Rumlow barking orders to find out more information covering over the sound of the engines.

“Cap, we’re up!” Rumlow called, and Steve stood up, heading over to the computer setup. “Target is a mobile satellite launch platform: the Lemurian Star. They were setting up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago.”

“Any demands?” Steve asked.

“Billion and a half.”

“Why so steep?”

“Because it’s S.H.I.E.L.D.’s,” Rumlow said.

Steve closed his eyes to stave off the headache that was creeping up. “So it’s not off course, it’s trespassing.” He looked at Natasha, figuring she had details about it.

“I’m sure they have a good reason.”

“You know, I’m getting a little tired of being Fury’s janitor.”

“Relax. It’s not that complicated.”

“How many pirates?” Steve asked, because he was not going to get into this now. He was just going to do his job and go home.

“Twenty five. Top mercs, led by this guy,” Rumlow pulled up a picture. “Georges Batroc.” Steve looked at the picture, taking in his features so he would know how to identify him in the dark. “Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He’s at the top of Interpol’s Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions. This guy’s got a rep for maximum casualties.”

“Hostages?”

Rumlow skimmed through the data available to him. “Mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell. They’re in the galley.” He pulled up Sitwell’s picture, and Steve recognized him. He had been in charge of a few of Steve’s first missions.

“What’s Sitwell doing on a launch ship?” Steve asked Natasha, before launching orders. “Alright. I’m gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep after me, find the hostages, get them to the life pods, get them out. Let’s move.”

“S.T.R.I.K.E., you heard the Captain, gear up,” Rumlow said, eyes darting to John who was still standing beside Steve.

Steve stepped away, securing one of the channels so they could have private communications between the away team.

“You do anything fun this weekend?” Natasha asked, after confirming the channel was secure.

“No blind dates, so Sam and I just had a quiet weekend in,” Steve said with a grin.

“Coming up to launch, Captain,” the pilot said over the speakers in the plane.

Steve headed to the hatch doors as they opened. John was standing by them, holding up a parachute. Steve looked at the chute and raised his eyebrow. He didn't use parachutes. Since John still had his goggles on he couldn't tell what John’s reaction was, which was a little upsetting since he had hoped he would be able to.

“Your funeral,” John said, putting the offered chute on.

Steve cracked a grin as he gave a salute to John and turned to Natasha, who had an eyebrow raised in a way that Steve was pretty sure meant, ‘see?!’ Steve turned away from her before she could say anything in front of John, and jumped out of the plane.

The water was cold when he hit it, but the uniform kept him dry, and prevented shock from setting in. From there it was easy to climb up the side of the ship to begin taking out the men one after another. Steve knew most men wouldn’t be expecting an attack from the sea, and he was proven right when he got on deck.

The first man went down easily, Steve choking him unconscious before he could alert anyone. He worked quickly, throwing his shield before any of the pirates could yell out. It made his job easier. He didn’t have time for a kill shot with each man but he made sure everyone was down for the count.

Steve had most of the deck cleared when the pirates finally caught on that someone was picking them off, and he found a gun pointed at his head, and angry French being shouted at him.

His eyes darted around, trying to figure out the best way to handle the guy. He trusted his helmet could protect him from a headshot, and the uniform was bulletproof, but he really didn’t enjoy getting shot.

A gunshot killed the guy, and Steve looked up to see Rumlow, Natasha, John and the rest of the team coming down. Rumlow had been the one to fire his gun.

“Thanks,” Steve said.

“Yeah. You looked really helpless down here,” Rumlow said, shaking his head as he pulled off his parachute pack.

John was the next one to land, followed by Natasha, and she fell into step beside Steve, while John broke off from the rest of S.T.R.I.K.E. team towards the highest point to set up his sniper rifle. Rumlow had probably given him the order. Steve purposefully turned his head so he didn’t watch John leave.

“I really think you should ask him out. I think Sam would like him,” Natasha said.

Steve couldn’t help but dart his eyes back to John, just to make sure he wasn’t in range to hear. “How about you do your job first, and try and set me and Sam up with him later.”

“I’m multitasking!” Natasha said, leaping off the edge of the boat to head towards the engine room.

From there it was pretty routine. 

Steve located the main control room, as well as Batroc. Steve was glad to hear that Batroc didn’t seem to know yet that they had arrived, seeming to be under the impression that a ransom was coming.

Pity on him, since S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t negotiate.

Steve circled back on the silent deck, spotting John up on the highest level. John turned his rifle towards Steve and he frowned, looking down at his chest where the laser of John’s scope was pointed.

Dot-Dot-Dot-Dot. Dot-Dot.

_Hi._

Steve couldn’t stop the smile that came to his face and he signed “work” back to John, assuming the goggles could pick it up. He continued on his route across the ship so he had a good angle to see the control room as well as access it once Rumlow made his move.

“Targets acquired,” one of Rumlow’s men said.

“S.T.R.I.K.E. in position,” Rumlow said.

“Natasha, what’s your status?” Steve asked, and when he didn’t get an immediate response he asked again, “Status, Natasha.”

“Hang on!” Natasha called out over the comm, and Steve counted off the fifteen seconds it took until Natasha came back on the line. “Engine room secure.”

Steve took a breath and counted down thirty more seconds. “On my mark,” he finally said. “Three. Two. One.”

He could hear the gunshots from the other side of the ship, and he was comfortable in the knowledge that Batroc couldn’t.

He flung his shield into the control room.

Batroc dodged, and by the time Steve had jumped into the control room Batroc had made a run for it. He grabbed his shield and pursued. He heard Rumlow over the comm, and only caught the last part of what he was saying.

“Romanov missed the rendezvous point, Cap. Hostiles are still in play.”

Steve cursed internally. He had lost sight of Batroc, and now apparently Natasha was late. She had never been late before.

“Natasha, Batroc’s on the move,” he said over the comm. “Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages.” He waited for her answer, but it didn’t come. He knew she could handle herself, but a lack of answer was worrying. “Natasha?”

Something came at him from the side, and only instinct caused him to raise his arms just in time.

Batroc.

He rolled and another kick hit his shield, pushing him down to the ground. Steve went with the momentum, as his training had taught him, and the fact that he didn’t stop was all that saved him from having Batroc’s next kick hit him squarely in the balls.

Steve scrambled to his feet, parrying the next kick, but not the one that came for his shoulder. Batroc was quicker than he was anticipating, but he used too much gymnastics. The next time he jumped Steve rolled under him, giving himself more time to regroup.

The shield did its job as Steve used it to block the kicks that his hands couldn’t catch.

He finally punched out with the shield, knocking Batroc back. But he just kip-upped and ran towards Steve again.

They traded more kicks and punches, but it was closer combat this time, and Steve grabbed a hold of his shoulders as he kneed Batroc in the gut, before attempting to throw him to the ground. Batroc used the momentum to flip himself away.

Steve stood his ground, waiting to see what Batroc would do.

“I thought you were more than just a shield,” Batroc said.

Steve heard the challenge, and even though he knew it wasn’t the best move, that he should just throw it at Batroc and be done with it, he holstered his shield and took off his helmet.

“Let’s go.”

Batroc smirked, and then dropped dead, a bullet between his eyes.

Steve turned around to see John walking up to him, with some stupid swagger that Steve had never seen before.

“I had that.”

“I’m sure you did,” John said in a tone that, even with the mechanical filter, sounded like he didn’t think so. 

"We weren't supposed to kill him."

John shrugged. "My mission is always to kill. It's the 'assassin' part of the job." He tilted his head to the side as Steve just crossed his arms. “You know, Cap, you could just say thanks.”

Steve rolled his eyes as John dropped his goggles, revealing that he was smiling. “I did have that.”

“Uh huh. Says the guy who still can’t beat me at arm wrestling?”

“You insist on using your prosthetic.”

“And you’re super human. You can’t complain.”

“I’m not left handed, it’s my weaker arm!”

John shook his head. “That’s a beautiful excuse, Cap, but it’s not gonna fly.”

Steve didn’t know what to say. He just stared at John, and even though it was the middle of the mission, and he should be focusing on the lives that were at stake, Steve could only circle back to one thing.

Would it be such a bad thing to just ask John out? Natasha wasn’t one hundred percent wrong when she said John had caught his eye, but he and Sam had just decided to not try and date anymore.

This was different though. This wasn’t a blind date. This was someone he trusted, even if it was just to watch his back in a firefight.

And Sam _had_ said...

“You got no comeback to that?” John asked.

“You should come have dinner with me and Sam,” Steve said in a rush. And before he could take it back he went for broke. “He’s uh – my Bonded.”

He could tell John was grinning, and that made him feel better. “Asking me on a date?”

“I think you’d like Sam.”

“If he puts up with you I’m sure I will,” John said. “When? After this mission?”

“Uh. Sure?”

John laughed. “Decisive. Where will I meet you guys?”

“You can't leave S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.” Steve pointed out.

“I’ll make do. Address?”

Steve rattled off the address, brain counting down the time he was wasting doing this. He hadn’t heard news that Natasha had met up with Rumlow, but here he was, asking his sniper on a date. His sniper who he wouldn’t even be able to recognize on the street. “You gonna come around in that mask? It’s fine if you need to wait until you’re done with your missions.”

John paused, and then lifted his hand to the back of his head. Steve thought John rubbed the back of his head, but then he saw the mask fall, and before Steve could argue John had taken it off, revealing his face for the first time.

Steve’s throat went dry, because it took his brain a moment to catch up, absorbing John’s features slowly – but he knew that face.

He had spent hours tracing those cheekbones, and those lips, playing with that chin.

His mouth didn’t work, and he just stared dumbfounded as John’s eyes glanced down – shy in a way that was so strange on Bucky’s face.

“I know I’m a looker,” he said – and his voice. This was the first time Steve had heard it. John – Bucky? – stepped forward, pressing a kiss to Steve’s cheek. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.” He whispered. “I’ll see you tonight.” He tapped his temple as he latched the mask back on.

Steve’s mind finally kicked into over gear, and he took a step--

“What are _you_ two up to?” Natasha asked as she came out of the side room.

Steve’s mind swirled back onto track. “Where have you been?”

Natasha grinned. “Completing my mission.”

“Your mission was to help rescue the hostages.”

“No,” she said slowly, looking down at Batroc’s dead body. “That was your mission, and look at that, you’re here chatting. So I guess that was a success.” She glanced at John and tilted her head to the side. “Nice eyes.”

John pulled his goggles back up, covering them. “Thanks.” He looked between the two of them. “I’ll head back to the jet.”

“We’re coming right behind you,” Steve said, falling into step behind Natasha.

Steve was only half-focused as he got back onto the jet though, because _Bucky_. How was that Bucky? That didn’t make any sense. He hadn’t been seeing properly. There was no way that was Bucky. Steve had obviously not gotten a good look at his face because Bucky - he was dead. Steve was just pushing his thoughts onto John, who he liked!

_**Is everything okay?**_ Sam asked once Steve was seated, trying not to stare at John, who was seated across from him, next to Rumlow.

Rumlow leaned over and whispered something in John’s ear.

_**I don’t know. We’re having company tonight.** _

John undid his facemask, and Steve held his breath, hoping he could see his face and confirm whether or not he was crazy. John wasn’t looking at him though, and he kept the mask covering the side of his face that was facing Steve.

_**Company?** _

John whispered something back to Rumlow, but Steve couldn’t hear it over the roar of the engine. He just saw the way Rumlow stared at John as John tapped him on his cheek with his left hand.

_**Yeah,**_ Steve closed his eyes. He couldn’t watch anymore. Not when he felt like he was losing his mind. _**We’ll talk when I get home.**_


	9. Chapter 9

“So what the hell is going on?” Sam asked as soon as Steve let himself into the house. It was just after 5:30, and Steve had zombie’d through his report in with Director Fury. He had also managed to convince himself that he was certifiably insane, because there was no way John was Bucky. “Steve, man, you are freaking out so hard you're gonna give me a heart attack, so please, talk to me.” Sam took his head, and pulled him into a hug.

Steve let out a breath. “I’m really stupid. And I’m going insane.” He drew in a breath. “I asked John over for dinner.” Sam nodded, and then pressed his head to Steve’s forehead. “It was during the mission. I don’t know what came over me, but Natasha had been joking about it and you'd said… And I just thought, why not? What could go wrong? If nothing else you’ll get to meet him, and we could be friends. And he’s leaving soon anyway. But he said yes, and then he took off his face mask and—“ Steve laughed. “And it was Bucky.”

Sam froze. Steve _felt_ Sam freeze, inside his mind, in his arms.

“I swear, Sam. It was Bucky. But I know that’s impossible, so I’ve spent the past four hours telling myself that I saw wrong, but I can’t forget Bucky's face, Sam.”

“I know you can’t forget his face, Steve,” Sam said, unfreezing against his mind, his hand coming up to stroke Steve’s cheek. “It wasn’t Bucky, though?”

“I don’t know! I saw his face for two minutes, _if that_. It was dark, so maybe. I must have seen wrong.”

Sam had the decency not to say that Steve had perfect low light vision, but he heard it inside Sam’s thoughts anyway.

“Steve. You liked this guy before you saw his face, though, right?”

“Yeah. I mean, it hadn’t crossed my mind what he looked like. I saw his eyes, and that was enough. He had honest eyes.”

“So are you freaking out because you are afraid you’re going to want to have a relationship because he looks like Bucky, and that’s not fair to him?”

“I don’t know, Sam. He’s not Bucky,” Steve said.

Sam let out a breath. “Come into the kitchen. Watching me cook will hopefully calm you down.”

Steve followed helplessly, unable to do anything else. Sam sat him down at the kitchen table and went to the sink where he had put the ground beef he was going to turn into hamburgers for dinner.

“What time is John coming over?”

“Seven?” Steve couldn’t remember exactly what he had said. “Or… maybe? We didn’t agree on a time.”

“Okay. So I’ll just wait for him to show up before I start these. But I’m making a salad now.” Sam went to the refrigerator and pulled out a variety of vegetables that he must have just bought, because Steve didn’t remember them being there earlier.

Steve sat there, soaking up the calm Sam was pushing toward him until there was a knock on the door, almost twenty minutes later.

Sam looked at Steve from across the table, where he had sat down once the salad was done. He had been playing on his phone, and he motioned for Steve to stay seated.

Steve felt his breathing pick up. He was nervous. He didn’t know what he would do when he saw John’s face again. If it didn’t actually look like Bucky would he be disappointed? And what if it _did_?

_**Calm down,**_ Sam said as he walked to the front door.

Steve didn’t look as Sam opened the front door, but he heard everything.

“Hi, is this— Sam?”

And that, that sounded like Bucky. It did, and it ripped at Steve, and he stood, steeling himself.

“Nice to meet you, John. I’m Sam. I’ve heard a lot about you from Steve,” Sam said, and Steve watched as he held out a hand for a shake.

John was wearing a baseball cap and civilian clothing that Steve didn’t know he owned: khakis and a shirt with S.H.I.E.L.D’s logo on it under a coat that hid his arm from sight. He pulled off the cap once he stepped inside, and his hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, exposing his entire face.

Bucky.

It was Bucky.

_**Steve?**_ Sam asked.

Steve took a deep breath, stepping forward to greet John. “Hey,” he said.

John – he had to be John, couldn’t be Bucky – smiled. “Hey. I realized we hadn’t agreed on a time. Hope this was alright?”

Steve stared at John’s smile, his heart clenching because it was so familiar. “No. This is fine.”

“Steve is pretty useless when it comes to planning things, so I was waiting for you to come by to start cooking dinner.”

John turned to look at Sam, smile not dimming. “Thanks. Is there anything I can do?”

“Well, give me your coat for starters,” Sam said, holding out his hand. John hesitated, looking at Steve, but then slowly removed his coat, revealing his metal arm. Sam, perfect Sam, didn’t bat an eye as he took the coat. “Nice prosthetic.”

John’s smile came back. Steve’s heart clenched again. “Thanks. It better be nice, after what I’m doing to keep it. Gotta tell you, keeping Steve alive is a pain in the ass. I swear he thinks he’s bulletproof.”

Sam raised his eyebrows at Steve. “I believe it.”

“Technically I am,” Steve muttered, watching as John walked in between the two of them towards the kitchen.

“Somehow I doubt that. Do you know today he jumped out of a plane without a parachute?”

Steve could feel Sam’s mirth coursing through the Bond and he sighed.

“No. Tell me, how did that work out for you?”

“It was into water, so it worked out just fine. I’ve done it over land, too.”

John laughed, throwing his head back, and Sam joined him as he grabbed some bowls.

“You want salad now, or once the burgers are done cooking? Steve should have checked earlier, but you do eat meat, right? And salads?” Sam asked.

John nodded, taking a seat at Sam and Steve’s kitchen table. Steve took the seat opposite him. “We can wait. And I eat whatever is put in front of me.”

“Don’t I know how that goes,” Sam muttered, shaking his head as he washed his hands and began breaking apart the ground beef so he could shape the patties.

“You’ve served?” John asked, looking honest-to-god interested in what Sam had to say.

Steve recognized that look from years ago, when the Commandos had gotten talking around the fire.

Sam was nodding as he turned on the center burner under the griddle. “Pararescue. Did two tours and now I work at the VA.” 

John leaned back, eyes darting to Steve, who suddenly felt like he should be doing something with his hands, because sitting here with John was too much like being seventy years ago. “Are you sure there's not anything Steve or I can do to help?”

“Steve’s pretty hopeless in the kitchen,” Sam said. “Says all this modern cookware confuses him.” He turned back and winked at the two of them.

Steve rolled his eyes, because this was an old conversation with them that went back to him offering to boil chicken. “When I was your age we had pits of fire. None of these stove things.”

John snorted and reached over the table to pat the top of Steve’s hand. Steve’s stomach twisted at the gesture and Sam looked back to check on him. “Don’t worry. I can’t remember any of this stuff, either.”

“Yeah?” Sam asked, cause Steve sure as hell couldn’t, not while half of him was seeing a dead guy.

“Yeah. I’m guessing Steve told you a bit, but I got amnesia. Perfectly fine with muscle memory stuff. S.T.R.I.K.E. Team just had to put a gun in my hand and I remembered, but there’s a lot I don’t. Cookware is definitely on that list.”

“But not cooking?” Steve asked selfishly, because Bucky had known how to cook. His mama had taught them both, regardless of what Sam thought about Steve's culinary skills.

John licked his lips in thought. “I think I remember being in the middle of nowhere, eating out of this shitty pot that couldn’t heat up right to save a life.”

Sam laughed. “Good old army food.”

“Two of our boys thought themselves real artists when it came to cooking. I never had such tasty burnt, uncooked food.”

Sam’s eyes darted to Steve and he tried to remember to breathe. What John was saying all sounded so familiar, but it was generic enough that it could relate to anyone. Just because it sounded like Dernier and Jones didn’t mean it was.

“You think muscle memory will help you remember how to flip burgers?”

John looked at Steve with a grin. “It may. Can Steve do anything right in the kitchen? Wouldn’t want him to feel left out.”

“If I want these burgers stuck to the ceiling I’d do it my damn self,” Sam said, stepping over to Steve after wiping his hands down, while John stood up to go over to the stove, washing his hands before starting to put the burgers down on the griddle.

Steve tucked his face in Sam’s stomach as he felt his arms wrap around him. He kissed Steve’s forehead. “Long day at the office?” Sam asked.

“Pirates,” Steve said, because he liked keeping Sam in the loop as much as possible.

“Awful pirates,” John commented. “It was a pretty routine mission, all things said and done. Nothing blew up.”

Sam’s fingers ran through Steve’s hair, and he tilted his head up for a kiss. He needed that bit of encouragement, and John didn’t seem like he would mind. Sam pet the back of Steve’s neck as he gave another quick kiss.

“Can I trust you to get bowls out?” He asked, stepping back.

Steve stood up, going to the cabinet.

The three of them moved pretty seamlessly, and while Steve knew in his head that it was because they were all trained soldiers and understood how to compensate for another person in their space, a part of him - the part that wanted this to be Bucky so badly - rolled in how perfect it seemed. He could feel Sam’s own enjoyment of how the evening was going passing through the Bond.

John seemed at ease as well, smiling more as they ate than Steve had thought he was capable of when he had first met him. It was a beautiful look for him, even though it only reminded Steve how much he looked exactly like Bucky. 

He was finding himself not caring how it happened that John looked just like Bucky. It just made him want to keep him around longer because it was a gift.

After dinner Sam moved them into the living room like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“What do you want to watch? We got way too many channels and I finally got Netflix set up,” Sam asked.

John hesitated, looking from the couch to the television, and then at Steve. “Uh? Would you believe me if I said I don’t...remember what I like?”

Steve risked putting his hand on John’s back, not intending to move him but he seemed to take it that way, because he took a step forward, sinking down into the middle of the couch. “That’s fine. I never know what to watch either.”

“That’s a lie,” Sam said, right as John sent Steve a grateful smile. “Steve likes reality TV competitions. I think I can find some Iron Chef, or something like that.”

John shrugged as Steve hesitantly took the right side of him. “It’s all the same to me.”

Sam dropped to John’s left, picking up the remote, and it was… awkward. Steve didn’t know what to do with his hands. Usually Sam and he sprawled out on the couch, one of them lying down with their heads in the other’s lap, and Bucky and Peggy and he hadn’t ever sat on a couch.

_**Be cool, Yolanda,**_ Sam said to him, the first they had spoken to each other through the Bond since John had come over. He then threw his arm around John’s shoulder like it was the most natural thing while he channel surfed.

John was stiff, eyes glancing at his hands until he took a deep breath and relaxed against Sam. Steve looked at the two of them and then took his own deep breath. He had been keeping his body as far away from John as possible, but now he sort of wanted to move closer. He didn’t know how to. Should he just reach for John? Would that be okay? Would that be wanted? 

John reached over for his hand, taking it in his, and quelling Steve’s inner worries.

Sam settled on a cooking show, and put down the remote.

“Why are they cooking with cough drops?” John asked after a moment.

Sam’s hand circled around John’s neck to stroke the end of John’s ponytail. “It’s a challenge; you have to cook something with different ingredients. You can use more, but the main ingredients have to be from the box. Generally they give you two useful ingredients and one out of left field.”

“Is that one melting them into a sauce?” Steve asked, speaking instead of burying his face in John’s neck.

“They sometimes get creative,” Sam said.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Steve said, dropping his head to John’s shoulder as John shifted so his right arm was wrapped around Steve, and he could lean more comfortably against Sam.

Sam’s hand moved closer to Steve, and he alternated between who he touched at any given point. They stayed like that as the first episode ended and another one started.

Sam gave a running narration throughout each episode, and John was all too happy to jump in with his own questions. Steve for the most part felt himself drifting, arms around John, and Sam playing with the nape of his neck.

The night was turning out strangely perfect. If John really was Bucky…

Steve’s eyes snapped open, and he suddenly felt wide awake. His sudden jolt drew the attention of John and Sam, and they both tried to soothe him. John kissed his temple, while Sam's fingers ran through his hair. He quickly resettled himself, making sure that when he did, his hand was on John’s waist.

“You okay?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. Just started to fall asleep,” Steve said, because it was mostly true.

John made a sound in the back of his throat, content and comfortable. “Knew you were capable of sleeping like us normal folks. Here’s a hint for you, Sam: if he ever says he’s slept while at work - on the plane or something, he’s full of shit.”

Sam laughed, low and lazy, and Steve wasn’t looking but he heard the sound of a kiss and he could only assume Sam had kissed the top of John’s head. “Is that so?”

Steve grunted, tracing his hand over John’s waist. He wasn’t really paying attention because...because there was a way to put a stop to all his confusion. Bucky had had a scar around his midsection from Zola’s experiments, a big ugly scar. John wouldn’t have it; Steve was positive.

“How do you know I don’t sleep when you’re sleeping?” He asked, just to keep them distracted with conversation.

John stayed silent, seeming to realize what he would have to admit to if he answered.

Sam laughed again, petting Steve’s neck some more as he got his hand under John’s shirt. “Pair of insomniacs, you two are.”

Steve rubbed his thumb over the smooth skin of John’s hip, and then upward. He held his breath as he kept feeling smooth skin, unsure if he was relieved or disappointed. His hand moved just a bit higher, until he was almost at John's belly button, when the skin's texture shifted to a scar. It was raised and Steve could feel the jagged edges, right along John’s waistline.

He forced himself to stay seated and calm, thumb never stuttering in its movement back and forth. He couldn’t give himself away, not with this confirmed.

This _had_ to be Bucky.

Against all odds.

This man, who had watched his back for the past two months, who was laughing with Sam like it was natural, who didn’t even seem to recognize Steve at all.

A loud buzzing alarm went off.

John swore, extracting himself from in between Sam and Steve. “I gotta get back,” he said, pulling out his phone. “This was alright, wasn’t it?” He asked, looking at the two of them.

Sam looked at Steve, who only had eyes for John because _Bucky_. Sam stood up, approaching John and pulling him close enough to give him a quick kiss on the lips. “I think so.”

John smiled, eyes darting to Steve, before he pressed another kiss to Sam’s lips. “Alright. Steve, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Steve nodded, and he forced himself to stand, forced himself to give John- _Bucky_ a brief kiss when all he wanted to do was see if muscle memory extended that far. “Yeah,” he said.

Sam took John’s hand and led him to the door, handing him his jacket and hat. “Friday?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said. He leaned in for one more quick kiss from Sam.

Sam shut the door.

“That was Bucky,” Steve said as soon as he heard John- _Bucky_ descend the front steps. “Not a look-alike. Not some weird sci-fi clone. Bucky.”

“How do you know?”

“Bucky had a scar on his stomach from the war. It stretched the whole way around. John had one too. I felt it.”

Sam pursed his lips. “I mean that guy looks _exactly_ like the guy from the pictures I’ve been looking at, but what? You think somehow Bucky survived the fall off the train? And what? Pulled a you? Was frozen for seventy years?”

“I- I don’t know." All the fire left Steve. "He’d been captured by HYDRA before… he was held for a while, and he was experimented on.” He ducked his head. “We thought HYDRA was just experimenting on omegas and how to change their dynamic. That’s what the scar was from. They’d removed _everything_ , uterus, ovaries, to see if it would change him to a beta.”

“But you wonder if they did more?”

Steve nodded. “The serum Schmidt had used on himself – it changed him on a biological level.”

“You think Bucky got some of the serum?”

“It would make sense. If he survived the fall and was frozen? And then – I don’t know how he ended up with S.H.I.E.L.D., and under this program.”

“I always thought Winter Soldier was a shifty sounding project. I mean, I’ve never known _anyone_ who went into it.”

“I need to call Tony,” Steve said, standing up to get his phone.

“Now? It’s almost midnight.”

“He’ll be up. And if not I’ll get J.A.R.V.I.S., who can get me the same information.” Steve scrolled on his phone, the Stark one, that Tony had forced him to have, until he got Tony’s number. It rang four times until J.A.R.V.I.S. picked up.

“Captain Rogers, a pleasure to speak with you.”

“Hello, J.A.R.V.I.S., can I speak to Tony?”

J.A.R.V.I.S. was silent for a moment, but then he said, “Unfortunately Mr. Stark is unavailable at the moment. Is this an emergency?”

Steve frowned. It was… but not in the way Tony probably meant. He supposed it could wait until morning. “No. Just. Can you look something up for me?”

“Of course, Captain. If it is within my means.”

“I’m looking for the Winter Soldier information Tony has from S.H.I.E.L.D.”

There was more silence, which Steve took to mean J.A.R.V.I.S. was looking. The line clicked. “I’m sorry, Captain, but that information is encrypted and it appears Mr. Stark will need to access it himself. I don’t have the necessary skills.”

Steve closed his eyes. “Of course. Can you have him do that? Tomorrow morning.”

“Certainly, Captain Rogers. I am sorry he can’t come to the phone tonight. I’ll let him know you called first thing in the morning.”

“Thank you.” Steve hung up first, and turned to Sam, who was staring at him. “S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files are all encrypted. And Tony is unavailable for some reason.”

Sam reached for him. “Steve. It’s gonna be alright.” Steve shook his head. “Here… what if we, if it is Bucky do you think, maybe your Bond with him is still there?”

Steve’s eyes went wide, and he felt like an idiot as he slumped onto the couch.

_**You’re not an idiot. You’re just distracted with the big picture,**_ Sam said inside his head.

Steve shook his head. _**No. I should have thought of this. There was an interview with Peggy. She said she refused to believe I was dead for years because she could feel the Bond, but eventually she moved on. There was a paper last year that theorized the Bond broke because she moved on, and if she hadn’t formed a new one it would have reformed when I came back.**_

“So there’s a chance... that the Bond is there with Bucky?”

_**Explains how two alphas Bonded. It’s not possible. But introduce a third?** _

_**I had just been assuming the power of love was at work.**_ Steve snorted at the sarcastic tone in Sam’s voice. _**Or you know, the serum made it so your brain thought I was an omega next to you, and we formed the Bond that way.**_

_**I’d thought that, too,**_ Steve said, as he sunk into his mind. Bucky had always been a light purple, but Steve couldn’t find that, so he searched deeper.

_**Can I help?**_ Sam asked, grabbing Steve’s hand, and grounding him.

_**Maybe? I think—I’m looking in the wrong places.** _

_**You’re too close. You’re expecting something that isn’t there.**_ Sam took a deep breath, and Steve felt a calm come over him as Sam joined him in searching.

Trying to find the Bond wasn’t as easy as locating Sam’s. There was a good chance that Bucky wasn’t aware of it at all, and it definitely wouldn’t have been tended to in the past seventy years.

But finally Sam gasped. _**I found something. It’s bright white.**_

Steve followed where Sam directed him, and when he saw the white thread himself he lost his breath for a moment. “He’s in such a good mood,” Steve said aloud.

He looked at Sam, who had a look of wonder on his face. It was different from the night they had found their own Bond, even more awestruck.

“This is unreal,” Sam whispered. “Like, this should not be possible.”

Steve laughed, a realization hitting him. “Oh god, the night we Bonded. The next day he said he’d spent the night with two alphas, and he looked as blissed out as I felt.”

“So he is feeling the Bond?” Sam asked.

“He has to be. He probably just doesn’t realize it.”

Sam shook his head. “Or maybe he does. Maybe he figured it out, and that’s why he said yes to coming over.”

Steve wanted so badly to send Bucky a thought, _something_ , but… it wasn’t Bucky anymore. That thought hit him in the gut. No matter what had happened to him, he had no memory. And maybe he realized they had been Bonded, but he didn’t have Bucky’s memories. It would be unfair to assault him with thoughts and feelings. Better to wait, and take it slowly.

He took a deep breath. _**Friday. I’ll have spoken to Tony by then.**_

_**That’s my boy,**_ Sam said.


	10. Chapter 10

Steve slept like shit. He woke up every hour, nerves tingling, and the first thing he did each time was check the Bond. Bucky was there every time, closed off the way Sam was with sleep. When he finally woke up at 4:30 he stayed awake in bed, back against the headboard, until Sam’s alarm went off an hour later.

Sam looked up at him once he shut off the alarm. “Did you get any sleep?”

Steve tried to smile. “A little?”

Sam snorted like he didn’t believe Steve. “You feel exhausted.”

Steve shook his head. “I’m alright.”

“Yeah, yeah, lemme get you some coffee,” Sam said as he climbed out of bed.

Steve followed him, and they fell into their morning routine: brushing their teeth, washing up, and then staggering into the kitchen to eat breakfast.

“At least it looks like Bucky is still asleep,” Sam said quietly as he watched the coffee drip. Steve closed his eyes, but he knew it was a pointless gesture. Sam would feel the rush of emotion that sentence brought over him, and when Sam turned to look at him, a soft smile on his face, Steve returned it. “It’s real, Steve.”

“I know. There’s just so many questions.”

“Well, he’s back at your job. Not many safer places he could be.”

Steve distracted himself by looking at his phone, wondering if six in the morning was too early for Tony. Probably. Maybe he should have told J.A.R.V.I.S. it was an emergency.

He quickly disposed of that notion. Bucky being alive wasn’t an emergency, since he was safe. Besides, Steve would be seeing him in a few hours anyway when he went into headquarters.

_**Hey, Steve, come for a run with me before breakfast,**_ Sam said, interrupting his thoughts.

Steve looked over at him, not realizing that the coffee had finished brewing, and Sam was sipping at his own mug while nibbling on some toast.

_**Okay.** _

_**And we’ll stop by that bakery you like on the way home.** _

Steve grinned, pouring his own mug of coffee. “You sure you don’t want to try and make croissants on your own? I’ve been eyeing those pre-made ones at the store every time you send me out.”

Sam rolled his eyes. _**I don’t have the patience to make croissants. But if I ask nicely, next time my sister Courtney is in town she might be willing to make some.**_

Steve put his mug down and stepped right up to Sam, tucking himself in for a hug. Sam wrapped his arms around Steve, pressing a kiss to his temple. _**You’re the best, Sam.**_

“I know,” he whispered, tilting his head so he could kiss Steve.

They stood there in the kitchen for a few minutes, trading tender kisses until Steve felt Bucky’s presence in his mind shift. Sam pulled away at the same time, eyes wide.

_**He’s awake,**_ Steve said unnecessarily.

_**Yeah,**_ Sam said, licking his lips before he leaned back in for a kiss.

Steve knew Bucky well, and even though Bucky didn’t seem to remember being Bucky, he still processed emotion the same. So he could feel Bucky waking up, and becoming aware of the feelings rolling off of him and Sam. It hadn’t been intentional, to push them towards Bucky, just like it hadn’t been intentional the nights before, but Steve didn’t regret it having happened. Not when he could feel a tingle of reciprocation from Bucky’s end of the Bond.

He wished he could reach out and try talking to Bucky, but he didn’t want to scare him. He tried instead to focus on Sam, and only Sam. It was easy once Sam started kissing down his neck, edging him back against the counter.

Steve tilted his head so Sam had more skin to kiss. He moaned, enjoying the feeling of teeth on his skin, and he couldn’t help but grind his hips against Sam’s. He could feel Sam’s erection through the soft material of their running shorts.

Sam chuckled. _**Want something?**_

Steve moaned. _**What do you think?**_

Sam didn’t pull back to look at Steve, instead letting his hands drift under Steve’s running shirt, dipping his hands in Steve’s pants. _**My mouth?**_

Steve’s dick twitched and his mouth went dry. Sam’s mouth was good. Sam’s mouth was very good.

Sam smirked. _**Thought so.**_

He sank to his knees and Steve drank in the sight as Sam rolled down Steve’s pants so his cock was exposed. Sam gripped the base of his dick, angling it so the tip grazed against his lips. He stuck his tongue out, licking his lips as well as Steve’s cock. Steve grabbed the edge of the countertop, wanting to let Sam take his time more than he wanted not to be teased.

_**Think he can feel this?**_ Sam asked, mouthing along Steve’s cock until he got to his balls. He licked his way back up to the tip of his cock and Steve went weak in the knees.

_**I don’t know.**_ Steve said, hips twitching. _**Kind of hope not. He should learn firsthand how good your mouth is.**_

Sam laughed and took the head of Steve’s cock into his mouth.

Steve groaned as Sam sucked on the head. It took all of his control not to just thrust forward, burying himself in Sam’s throat. His mouth was warm and wet, and Steve knew what his tongue could do.

Sam swirled his tongue around Steve’s cock, his hand pulling the foreskin gently back so he could get at the sensitive underside. He sucked, hand jacking the rest of Steve’s cock. Steve couldn’t take the teasing anymore.

Steve’s hand left the counter and grabbed the back of Sam’s head, pushing his head down so he swallowed his cock.

It was so good, feeling Sam’s mirth and pleasure as Steve rocked his hips, fucking himself closer and closer to orgasm.

Sam dropped his hand from Steve’s cock, and Steve had to be careful he didn’t start to knot, because Sam wouldn’t be ready for that. His stomach tightened up as Sam’s throat relaxed and he pulled back so only the tip of cock was in Sam’s mouth. He gripped the base of his dick, jacking himself to completion, his vision going white and his breath coming in short pants.

When he opened his eyes Sam was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, as his other hand rested on Steve’s knee, wet with his own come. “You’re not getting out of our run with that.”

Steve smiled, knees weak. He still had the energy to lift Sam back to his feet. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Tony still hadn’t called by the time they returned from their run, but Steve tried not to worry about that. It was only 7:30, after all. He was probably in one of his post-invention drops where he slept for eighteen hours straight.

Bucky was still a warm sensation in the back of his mind, and Steve was pretty sure Sam was keeping an eye on him, too, from the way he would go silent mid-thought. The fact that Sam was so receptive to the Bond made Steve feel better because he had been worried. It wasn’t something Sam had chosen, after all. But then again, the Bond rarely was. It happened automatically when you had three compatible people.

They ate their breakfast at the kitchen table in comfortable silence, and Sam finished off the pot of coffee before he stood to get ready for work. Steve went to the sink to wash out the pot and put the plates in the dishwasher when there was a frantic knock on the door.

Steve frowned. _**I got it.**_ The pounding continued, increasing in volume.

_**Got what?**_ Sam asked.

Steve didn’t answer as he looked out the peephole to see the back of someone’s head. He opened the door slowly, bracing himself. 

The person turned around when the door opened and Steve stared at Bucky, who was wearing a bomber jacket over his Winter Soldier uniform, with a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He hadn’t registered a change on Bucky’s end of the Bond, and even as he reached to check it now, all he got in response was the calm and content that had been there since this morning. And while Bucky’s face may have been a mask of calm, his eyes were wide with adrenaline.

He had to be blocking the Bond consciously.

Which meant Bucky had to know about the Bond.

“What-?” Steve asked as Bucky held up his hand.

“Can I come in?” His voice was shaking, and Steve looked him over again. He didn’t look hurt, but Steve knew from experience the uniform could hide a lot.

“Yeah, yes.” He held the door open, letting Bucky in.

Sam was standing in the kitchen doorway, toothbrush in his mouth. _**What’s the matter?**_

Steve shook his head slightly, watching as Bucky placed his backpack carefully at the entryway, movements stilted. “I need someplace safe.”

“Why?” Steve made sure he used the right name when he addressed Bucky. “John?”

He let out a ragged laugh, but it was wrong. “I’m fucked.”

Sam’s nerves spiked and Steve darted a look to him. “What?”

“I killed The Target,” Bucky said, and Steve’s stomach dropped.

“You were on a mission? Are you hurt?” He took a step forward, but Bucky stepped back.

It hit Steve right then. The hint of a cloying scent that would soon take over everything. Sweet and needy.

_**Steve, Steve, he’s starting heat.**_ Sam sounded nervous in his head, as the scent hit him as well.

_Fuck._

Bucky pressed his the palms of his hands into his eye sockets. “I’m not- I wasn’t on a _mission._ Not like- It wasn’t- I didn’t want to be there. It was different. Solo. They said the word,” he took a deep breath. “I was getting it all back, been out of the ice box too long but they can’t tell if I act a certain way. And then they said that stupid fucking _word_ like they always do, but I remembered. I _remembered_ what happens afterwards and so I’m not reporting back.” He pulled his head up and looked at Steve, and then Sam. “You’re supposed to help me. I know you,” Bucky said, desperate. 

He looked wrecked standing there in front of them.

“Yes. I know you, too.”

“No! I _know_ you. You’re here in my head. And in my memories. But you were smaller… sometimes.”

Steve swallowed. “Yes, I _know._ You’re in my head too. You have been since we were kids. We're Bonded.”

"Yes, Bonded," Bucky said with conviction. "We're Bonded," and this time it was like he was testing the word out. As if he hadn't fully admitted it to himself until just now, despite knowing it was there. His eyes darted to Sam. "You too?"

Sam nodded. "I'm new, but I'm here all the same." 

“And that means you’ll help me.” Bucky said. "You have to."

“We will,” Sam said, stepping forward. He was still holding his toothbrush, and his mouth was still lined with toothpaste, but he didn’t seem to notice. “But you need to tell us what happened.” He took a deep breath, and Steve knew he was getting the full force of the start of Bucky’s heat.

“I woke up,” Bucky said. “I woke up because they’d come for me.”

“Who’s they?” Steve asked, and Sam shot him a look.

Bucky took another breath, obviously trying to filter whatever was going on in his mind. Steve could hazard that he was remembering a great deal of things: before the war, the war, his intervening year and all of those missions. He probably had been for a while by the sounds of his rambling, but whatever had happened this morning had kicked it into overdrive.

“Rumlow, and the Boss. They came, and the Boss said the word. See, I realized there’s this pattern. I get taken out and told this story. The cover story. And I believe it because it makes sense. It fits with what I have; I’m a soldier, I can tell that. And I’ve been injured. And I have no memory. So it makes sense, but then it starts breaking down. And when it’s broken down too much, when I start to actually remember, they say the word, and then I go away, but I hate going away.” He was getting frantic again.

_**Jesus, they had him completely brainwashed,**_ Sam said.

_**And then they use a trigger word on him to do one final mission before returning him to start over again.** _

“Yes!” Bucky said, eyes darting between the two of them. “It’s a trigger word! Except this time, this time I remembered what happens. Normally I don’t, and I file back in like a good little soldier. And then I forget and it starts all over.”

Steve stared at Bucky, but it was Sam who spoke. “Who was your target?”

That was not the question Steve had wanted to ask, because Bucky had just heard them through the Bond. He didn’t realize Bucky could hear them, that he had been that open to the Bond, but he deferred to Sam’s judgment.

Bucky licked his lips. “The Director.”

Steve’s eyes went wide, and he reached for his phone, typing out the code they had in place for a crisis in a text to Natasha with one hand (which he’d have to tell her he had done later). This had definitely fallen into emergency territory, and he’d need to call Tony as soon as he had Bucky under control. “Fury? Rumlow had you kill Fury? Why?”

Bucky shook his head. “I don’t know. I just- the word comes and I follow it. I don’t know the why. It’s like every other mission. I follow the order. I make the world safer. That’s what they said. That’s what he tells me every single time.” His voice was tense by the end, a dangerous mix of angry and tearful. Steve watched as Bucky jammed the palms of his hands back in his eyes. “Fuck,” he cursed. “I hate this part.” Each word was emphasized with a punch of his palms against his eye sockets.

Steve and Sam reached for him, pulling on his wrists.

“Bucky, Bucky! Hey, hey, stop it,” Steve said.

Bucky froze, and then his head jerked up. “What did you say?”

Steve’s mouth took a moment to work, because it was suddenly dry. “I- I’m sorry. I thought…”

“Bucky,” Sam said. “It’s your name. James Buchanan Barnes. You’ve been Bonded to Steve since you were kids, and now you’re Bonded to both of us. It’s why we’re in each others’ heads.”

“Bucky,” he repeated. “What the hell kind of name is Bucky?”

Steve couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “I don’t know? Your name?”

Bucky said the name again. “I… It sounds right. Familiar.” His body went lax, and he wavered.

Steve and Sam kept him standing with steady hands on his shoulders. “Shit,” Sam whispered. “His heat is hitting him hard.”

“That’s not possible,” Steve said, even though the evidence was completely to the contrary. He could feel the feverish temperature through the Kevlar of Bucky’s uniform, and his pupils were blown wide.

“We need to get him on ice.”

“No!” Bucky said, trying to pull back from them. Steve was glad he had the left side, or else Bucky probably would have gotten away. “I’m not forgetting.”

Sam made a shushing sound. “No one’s going to make you forget, but you’re going into heat, and ice water will make it more bearable.”

Bucky looked at him. “I’m not going to forget?”

“We don’t want you to forget,” Sam said. “A cold bath will make you feel better.” He looked at Steve as he placed both hands on Bucky, pulling him towards the bathroom.

Steve stayed in the entryway, mind racing.

And that’s when his phone started ringing. He clicked answer before he saw who it was.

“Capsicle, I hear you called,” Tony’s voice came through loud and clear.

“Fury’s dead.” It wasn’t what he wanted to start with, but it was the first thing to come out.

“Excuse me?”

“Fury was killed. Apparently by a hit from within S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m waiting for Nat to show up to get more information. Clint is deep undercover on assignment, so it’s just us two.”

“Motherfu-dger…” Tony cut himself off. “Open that laptop I know S.H.I.E.L.D. gave you. We need some face to face time. I’ve got Bruce here- Bruce, I kinda need you here.” Tony sounded far off as he spoke to Bruce, and Steve mechanically turned on the laptop that sat on the coffee table.

A knock came at the door, and Steve went to answer it while the laptop booted up. His mind was finally starting to catch up with everything.

Bucky was supposed to report back in at some point. He hadn’t, and that meant S.H.I.E.L.D. would go looking for him sooner or later. He didn't know how quickly it would be before S.H.I.E.L.D. agents appeared at Sam’s door, but it was coming.

“Tony! I need you to tell me all information from the files you have on Project Winter Soldier. What he’s been used for, and by who,” Steve said as he opened the door for Natasha, who was looking tense.

“Project Winter Soldier?” Tony’s voice was coming out of the laptop, somehow he had rerouted the call to there – and Steve didn’t question it, just tucked his phone away.

“That’s who killed Fury.”

Natasha stopped in the entryway. “What the hell, Steve?”

He took a deep breath. “Short version: Project Winter Soldier isn’t what it seems. It’s Bucky.” Natasha mouthed the word _Bucky?_. “Bucky Barnes. From my past. He’s- I don’t know. But he’s been brainwashed, and been triggered to follow the orders of Rumlow and, I’m guessing, Secretary Pierce. This morning his orders were to kill Fury.”

Natasha clenched her jaw. “Where is he?”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “Natasha, Bucky is just a pawn in this. He had no control over-“

“He’s here, then.” She took a deep breath. “Goddammit, Rogers, he’s knee-deep in heat.”

“I’m aware.”

“That’s not good,” Tony spoke up from the laptop, and Steve moved to the sofa so he could watch Tony. “You should probably take care of that, Rogers.” Tony wasn’t looking at the camera he had trained on his workshop, as he tapped away at a tablet. “Bruce, find anything interesting in what I’m decoding?”

Bruce was off-camera when he answered. “What are we looking for, exactly? Everything you’ve decrypted so far has been in Russian.”

Sam appeared from the back, not even batting an eyelash at Natasha, or the computer set up. “He’s comfortable in the bathroom for now. I’m not sure how long that will last, though. The heat is coming on strong.”

_**He shouldn’t even be having it,**_ Steve said, hopefully only to Sam. _**The scar I told you about? And how they removed everything? It stopped his heats entirely.**_

_**Well, if he’d been injected with the serum like you, then it probably grew back.** _

_**We were together for almost two years after he got rescued. There was never any hint of it coming back.** _

_**Seventy years is a long time to heal.** _

“I thought you found out all of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s dirty little secrets back during New York, Tony,” Natasha said.

“Well, I was going to, but then we kinda got distracted by saving the world and then I had some other things going on in my life, and well – let’s just said I made a stupid mistake in trusting that Fury knew what the fuc-dge he was doing.”

Natasha tilted her head to the side. “Why the censorship? Pepper got you on a swear jar?”

Tony’s eyes flicked to the camera, and then away. “J.A.R.V.I.S., camera eight.”

The camera angle switched to show Bruce seated on a clean section of Tony’s work bench, a small toddler at his feet working at hir own child-sized workbench. Steve narrowed his eyes, taking in the tight curly hair, dark caramel complexion, and pastel purple jumper dress the kid was wearing as they worked at building some sort of toy rocket.

The camera flipped back to Tony. “Bad for Grace.”

“Grace?” Natasha asked.

“Tony, ze looks almost two,” Steve said.

“Yeah, we don’t talk about it,” Tony muttered.

“I didn’t know you had had a kid.”

“You must have been pregnant during New York,” Natasha said. “When you flew that rocket…” she trailed off.

“We don’t talk about it,” Bruce repeated, coming onto camera. “I think I found something.”

“Oh, thank god,” Tony said, grabbing the tablet from Bruce and scanning over what he had found. His eyes narrowed. “This makes no sense.”

“What?”

“This file. It lists where he’s been stashed since he’d been found, and with who. And after the Soviet Union collapsed in ‘91 and he was transferred as a peace offering – which is documented – he would have traded handlers. But his handlers stay the same. The whole staff stayed the same.”

“Maybe they came with the change?” Steve asked.

“No. It looks like S.H.I.E.L.D. had him this whole time.” The screen Tony was looking at appeared on Steve’s laptop; he hadn’t known it was possible to do that. “From day one.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Sam said. “I thought you worked for the good guys.”

“We do,” Steve said. “Tony, he couldn’t have been with S.H.I.E.L.D. this whole time. Peggy helped found S.H.I.E.L.D. If she had known he was alive she wouldn’t have let him be used like this.”

“You have the same information I do, Cap. I said it didn’t make sense.”

Steve leaned back and rubbed his hand over his face. “So S.H.I.E.L.D. has been hiding secrets from itself since the beginning.”

“Color me shocked,” Tony muttered. “So where does this leave us? Do we even know why Fury was taken out?”

Steve looked at Natasha, who shook her head. “No.”

“Excellent. Has anyone gotten into contact with Hill? And Steve, you’ll probably want to move your boy Bucky into hiding or something. If they used him to kill someone they’ll probably want him back. Evidence and all.”

Sam narrowed his eyes. “And where exactly would we move him? You got a safe house laying around?”

“As a matter of fact I do, thank you very little, person I don’t know. Who is this guy, Cap?”

“He’s my Bonded,” Steve said. “Sam Wilson. He works at the VA.”

“Doesn't sound like he’s qualified for this kind of stuff, Cap. No offense.”

Sam’s shoulders squared, and Steve watched as he walked away. Steve was about to snap at Tony to be more polite when Sam returned with a folder in hand, which he tossed on the coffee table.

“What’s that?” Steve asked, not reaching for it.

“Call it my resume to impress Iron Man.”

Steve still didn’t touch it. Sam hadn’t talked about what he had done in Afghanistan, and Steve had always assumed there was a reason for that. He wanted to respect Sam, but when he looked at him Sam was standing at attention. The only way to respect him was to take his offer seriously.

Natasha grabbed the file first. “Is this Bakhmala?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Natasha nodded. “The Khalid Khandil mission. That was you?” Her face was impressed as she handed the folder to Steve. “You didn’t say he was a pararescue.” 

“It didn’t come up in your stalking?” He asked as he looked at the picture on top of the folder. He glanced at Sam. _**Is this Riley?**_

Sam nodded, as Steve flipped open the folder after reading the title: Project Falcon.

“I heard they couldn’t bring in the choppers because of the RPGs,” Natasha said. “What’d you use? A stealth shoot?”

The images of the jetpack were the first thing in the folder, and then it was blacked out mission reports. He darted his eyes to Sam as Natasha leaned over to look. “You said you were a pilot.”

“I’ve never said pilot.”

“Sam, I can’t let you do this.”

“Steve, I’m already doing this. I told you that if you need me, I’m here, and you definitely need me.”

Tony grunted, drawing their attention back to him. “Someone should share with the people not currently in the room. Jesus, you all need J.A.R.V.I.S. installed everywhere. It would make things so much easier.”

Steve handed the schematics over to Sam so he could hold them up in front of the laptop’s camera.

Tony hummed, impressed, and tapped out something on his keyboard, bringing up an address on Steve’s screen. “The place I was thinking of is the one Rhodey has around D.C., for when he needs to deal with Capitol Hill or whatever it is he does. He’s not there right now, important meetings in Europe or something, but it’s secure.”

Steve knew it was Tony’s way of saying he was okay with Sam. “That’s great and all, but what do we do about S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

Tony blew out a breath. “I guess I’ll spend the day slogging through the b.s. that is all the S.H.I.E.L.D. files I downloaded and we’ll reconvene tomorrow. Will that be enough? How long does your omega’s heat normally last?”

Steve shook his head. “I’m not stopping in the middle of a mission to have heat sex, Tony.”

“I really don’t think you have a choice,” Natasha muttered, looking towards the bathroom.

“I’m not-” Steve froze mid-sentence as he heard something scratching at the back door. 

Natasha went tense, and Steve hand-signaled to both her and Sam to keep talking as he grabbed his shield from the kitchen hallway and headed towards the back door.

Sam kept talking as he typed out a message on the laptop to Tony, and hopefully whoever was trying to break in didn’t realize they had been discovered yet.

Steve peeked into the back room and saw black pants and a leather trench coat through the bottom of the sliding glass door. He lowered the shield as the door slid open to reveal Fury.

“Sir?” He asked, voice normal so Sam and Natasha could hear him.

Fury’s head snapped up, probably not expecting Steve, and he grinned despite the beating he looked to have taken. Steve catalogued the way he was holding his left arm close to his chest, and the lacerations covering his face. For a dead guy, though, he looked pretty good.

“Captain.”

“You’re supposed to be dead.”

Fury nodded to the shield in Steve’s hand. “I wasn’t expecting such a warm reception.”

“The Soldier said he’d killed you,” Natasha said, coming from the kitchen with her gun drawn, Sam behind her. She stared wide-eyed at Fury for a moment, before she tucked her gun away.

Fury shook his head. “Close, but I guess even a scrub from Pierce’s Winter Soldier project fails sometimes.” His feet faltered as he stepped fully into the back room, and Steve watched as he sniffed the air. “He’s here?”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “You don’t know? There is no Winter Soldier project. It’s just one guy.”

“What do you mean it’s just one guy? Pierce loves playing up that pet project. Disabled vets are great for PR.”

“It’s all a cover. The Winter Soldier is just Bucky Barnes,” Sam said. “And he’s here because he came to Steve and I after he thought he killed you.”

Fury looked towards the bathroom. “You are some dumb motherfuckers.”

“Language!” Tony called, and Steve was impressed he could even hear them talking.

“She’s twenty months old, Stark. She’ll barely remember this,” Fury said, walking past Steve and into the kitchen so he could look at Tony.

Steve supposed it wasn’t surprising that Fury would know about Tony having a kid when it seemed like no one else on Earth did, but it was still unnerving to watch him wave to the toddler, and the kid wave back like she recognized him.

“You got her building robots yet, Stark?”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. is not recruiting her, I’ve told you this,” Tony muttered, like this was an old conversation.

“Not that I’m not enjoying this immensely,” Steve said. “But why are you here and not at a hospital?”

Fury gave him a look. “S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised. I was coming to talk to one of the last people I knew I could trust.”

“And what do you want me to do?” Steve asked.

“Looks like you’re already doing it.” Fury nodded to Sam and Natasha.

“Do you know why Pierce would want you dead? The Soldier -- Bucky -- didn’t know why he’d been put on assignment.”

Fury was hesitant, but then he sighed. “Project Insight.”

“What?” Steve asked.

“It was my next big project. We use three next-generation helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites.”

Suddenly Steve’s laptop screen was being filled with schematics, and his eyes darted over them as Fury talked. These had to be the files Tony found on Project Insight.

“Once they get up in the air, they’d never need to come down. Continuous sub-orbital flight.”

“You’re using my repulsor technology,” Tony said, half distracted, and Steve could tell he was reading something. Probably more files. Bruce had come up behind him to look at the documents, too, Grace in his arms. “Not my guns, though.”

The schematics shifted and Steve saw that each helicarrier was equipped with a lot more weapons than the original helicarrier he remembered being on.

“They’re long-range precision guns, and they can eliminate 1,000 hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist’s DNA before he can step out of his spider hole.”

“Christ,” Sam whispered as he took control of the trackpad on the laptop, scrolling through the schematics. “This is some Minority Report-level stuff.”

Steve didn’t get that reference, but the way Tony and Bruce’s faces clouded over let him know it wasn’t a good thing. 

“We were going to neutralize a lot of threats before they even happened.”

“When I gave you the repulsor technology I wasn’t intending for you to use it in some Big Brother manner,” Tony said, frown deepening on his face.

“You didn’t give us stipulations, Stark.”

“I thought it was relatively clear what I intended it for,” Tony snapped.

Steve was glad the two of them weren’t in the same room because the look Fury was giving the laptop screen could kill. He decided to step in before it got worse. “And who decides who the hostiles are?”

Fury sighed. “It doesn’t matter, Rogers. I’d asked Pierce to put the whole thing on pause just yesterday. I thought it might have been misappropriated.”

“You think?” Tony asked.

“You think Pierce didn’t like that. He wants Project Insight to launch,” Natasha said, cutting off their sniping.

“Yes.” Fury held out a flash drive. “This has all the data from the Lemurian Star, which is where we were going to launch the ships from. I thought this information might have been what was compromised. But I can’t get to the contents on the hard drive,” Fury admitted.

“Gimme!” Tony called over the laptop.

Natasha rolled her eyes at Tony’s antics. “The drive has a level six homing program. They’ll know our location the moment we plug that drive in, won’t they? And it will take them what? Fifteen minutes to get here?”

“Fifteen minutes is long enough for me to break into the Pentagon and get back. This will be easy,” Tony said.

Steve looked at Sam. “You and Bucky need to leave first. Go to the safe house Tony mentioned.”

Sam opened his mouth to argue, but then nodded. He took a step towards the bathroom, and then froze. _**Shit, his scent is getting strong.**_

Fury was watching Sam, and he looked down towards the bathroom. “Alphas are useless,” he muttered under his breath as he started walking. “I’ll get him out of the bathroom and dressed.”

Steve grimaced, but he knew it was for the best. “We’ll give you a ten-minute head start, and then we’ll plug in this drive. We’ll get the contents off of it, and then I’ll meet you at Tony’s safe house as soon as I can.”

“If we can’t get the contents I think I’ll be able to at least trace where the drive was made. Maybe if we have the actual computer that created the files we’ll know what’s in them,” Tony said. Grace had moved into the camera frame, and was sitting in Tony’s lap as he typed away on the computer. She was playing with the rocket she had put together, flying it around, much to the delight of Bruce.

Steve looked away, because it was too close to what he had once wished for, and he didn’t need to think about that now.

Fury came back with a still-wet Bucky, dressed in some of Sam’s spare clothes. He looked like he was in shock, and there could be a number of factors contributing to that, but Steve was pretty sure seeing his target still alive was one of them. Steve realized belatedly that they were lucky Bucky hadn’t tried to kill him, just to finish the mission.

Sam stood, pulling Bucky into his arms. “We need to move from here, so they don’t find us. You and I are going to leave first. Steve will follow as soon as he can, okay?”

Bucky nodded, looking at Steve, and not paying attention to anyone else. Steve wanted to reach for him, and give him a kiss, but he wasn’t sure that would be a good idea. Bucky’s heat was getting stronger, and Natasha was covering her nose. Sam had to walk by Steve as he guided Bucky out of the house, putting the baseball cap back on his head, but leaving his backpack.

“So, Fury, you got any other secrets you wanna share with us?” Tony asked, probably trying to fill the silence.

Fury glared at the laptop screen. “Steve, do you have a first aid kit here? Fractured my ulna and radius and I should probably splint it. The painkillers are gonna wear off soon.”

“Oh, you think,” Natasha said, crossing her arms, displeased.

Steve stood up and went into the bathroom, covering his mouth. Sam had a heavy-duty first aid kit tucked away in the sink cabinet, lucky for Fury. He handed it to Fury when he returned. “Looks like we all have secrets,” he said. “It’s almost like we’re all human.”

Tony let out an exaggerated gasp. “Don’t say such things.”

Steve rolled his eyes.

“Wait, what’s Nat’s secret?” Bruce asked, casual as you please, while he took the rocket from Grace for a moment to tinker with it with a screw driver. “Did you and Clint have a secret kid, too?”

“Barton and secret kid what?” Tony asked. “They aren’t together! I thought it was like a... comrades-in-arms thing.”

Steve shook his head, a fond smile on his face. Fury was almost done making his splint. “And we all thought you only had two alphas, Tony. See what I said about secrets?”

“We’ll have a sleepover once we figure all of this out, and I’ll tell you all my secrets while Pepper braids my hair.”

“About that,” Bruce cut in. “What exactly are we doing?”

“Well, Banner,” Fury said. “Stark is going to try and crack that drive, which will probably fail-” Tony made a disagreeing sound “-and then when he admits that failed he’ll find us where it was written. Hopefully before any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents show up to finish Steve’s dead bondmate’s job. Then Natasha and I will go to wherever it was made, while Steve meets up with his bondmates, so half our team is not completely fucked up with distraction. We’ll meet up with you when we’ve found out what’s on that drive.”

“What about Agent Hill?” Steve asked.

“She has her own mission.”

“Are you going to tell us what it is?” Tony asked.

Fury gave Tony a look. “She’s setting up my own fucking safe house, Stark. It’s not that I don’t trust you… But I don’t trust you.”

Tony rolled his eyes, covering Grace’s ears with one hand on one side of her head and pressing the other into his stomach. “Well, I’m glad we’re all in agreement about something. Hey, Cap, what’s the status on your boys?”

Steve glanced at the timer and saw it have been almost ten minutes. _**Are you far enough away?**_ He asked Sam.

_**Think so,**_ Sam said.

_**No one is following us,**_ Bucky said, and it punched Steve in the gut, hearing him. He sounded exhausted, the way he always had during heat, before Steve had worked it out of him as best he could.

They hadn’t been in a heat since Steve had gotten the serum, though, and there was a part of him that was excited. It was small, though, compared to the part that was nervous about everything else going on.

“They’re far enough away,” he announced to the room.

“Give it to me,” Tony said.

“Once we get what we need we’re going to cut the connection, Tony,” Natasha said. “We’ll get in contact once we’re in the clear.”

“You better.”

Fury plugged in the flash drive.

Steve watched as the screen began to change rapidly, Tony taking over it. He began the backwards countdown, hoping that any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were far enough away that it would take the full fifteen minutes they thought they had for them to get there.

Tony cursed as he tried something, and then the screen switched to a map.

“The software keeps rewriting itself, and the program I thought would work to counter it doesn’t. So I’m just going to find out where it was created.”

Steve watched as the map slowly pinpointed the location, and he blinked in surprise. “I know that place.”

“Great,” Natasha said, pulling the flash drive out and shutting the laptop, killing the connection with Tony.

The three of them headed for the back door, Steve grabbing his shield as he passed it.

He heard cars rushing towards the house, and herded Natasha and Fury in the opposite direction. It was mid-morning, which wasn’t ideal for hiding, especially with his shield. Natasha had them walking casually, because she said running would draw attention, like his shield and Fury’s trenchcoat didn’t do that anyway.

They cut through back alleys until they had put enough distance between themselves and the house that Steve felt comfortable breaking into two cars: one for him, and one for Natasha and Fury.

“Where did Captain America learn to steal a car?” Natasha asked, grinning as she got behind the wheel.

“Nazi Germany. And we’re not stealing, we’re borrowing, so don’t crash it,” Steve said, pointing his finger at her.

Natasha smirked and handed him her phone. “Where’s this place we’re going? Put the coordinates in my GPS, freak.”

“Sure that’s safe?”

“StarkTech. Not S.H.I.E.L.D. It’s for Avengers missions,” Natasha assured him.

Fury groaned. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“Guess it’s the point of not being associated with S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Steve said, putting in the address. “The place you’re going is the camp I trained at, before I was shipped out.”

Natasha nodded, taking her phone back. “Alright. You be safe. We’ll get in contact with you hopefully tonight.”

“You better. I’ll text when I’m at Tony’s safe house.” He tapped the roof of the car and stepped back as Natasha drove off.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter is literally just full of heat sex, which is inherently dubcon. This was not written as dubcon, and I try to make it as clear as possible that there is consent, but if dubcon is something that makes you uncomfortable you might want to tread lightly?

The house reeked.

Actually it didn’t reek. It smelled like coming home. The moment Steve stepped inside Tony’s safe house it was like he was back in that shitty apartment Bucky and he had shared on the fifth floor in Brooklyn. Sometimes they had tried to open the windows to air out the place when Bucky’s heat had gotten to be too overwhelming, but that only really worked in the winter, and Bucky’s heats had been regular back then. Every three months like clockwork.

Their neighbors had always nudged each other and joked about how healthy Bucky had to be, and Steve would feel undeserving up until the moment Bucky turned and looked at him with needy eyes. Bucky had chosen him all those years ago, and that’s what this smell reminded Steve of.

Sam was seated on the couch, his face in his hands. Steve couldn’t see Bucky, but he could smell him. He was pretty sure Sam had put him straight into the bath, just trying to hold off the heat for that little bit longer. But it was okay, Steve was there now. They could get through this, the three of them.

Steve took a seat next to Sam, slowly pulling his hand away from his face. “Sam, are you with me?” He asked the question out loud to make sure there was no chance of Bucky overhearing. He remembered how to send his thoughts to just one person, but he knew Sam didn’t yet, and he wasn’t going to try to teach him now, with both their minds muddled.

“I don’t think I can do this, Steve. I’ve never _been_ with an omega before, and trying to get one through heat… that’s a lot of pressure.”

Steve rubbed his hand up and down Sam’s back. “It’s not any different than any other sex you’ve had before.”

Sam shook his head. “Untreated heat can’t really kill an omega, can it?”

Steve couldn’t stop his snort, even when Sam glared at him. “No. It’s an old wives' tale. Trust me… my old body was able to work just fine for heat, and I was definitely not the picture of health.”

Sam chewed on his lip. “Can you just make sure he wants me there? I don’t… it’s fine if he’s more comfortable with just you.”

“Sure thing, Sam,” Steve said, getting to his feet.

Bucky was in the back bathroom, submerged up to his chin except for his metal arm, and still fully dressed, in the giant bathtub. He was shivering, but still aware enough of his surroundings that his eyes darted to Steve when he entered. His scent was even stronger in here, where it had been closed off for the past half hour.

“Hey,” Steve said, taking a step closer, wary of any sign of rejection from Bucky.

Bucky kept his eyes on him, but he didn’t tense, even as Steve sank down so he was kneeling at the edge of the tub. He lifted his hand slowly, wanting to touch Bucky to see how far along the fever was. Bucky nodded his head and Steve carefully carded his fingers through his hair, and then moved down to cup his face, feeling how warm he was.

“We’re here to help,” Steve said. “Any way you need. If it’s just getting you more ice and leaving you alone while you get through this, that’s fine.”

Bucky shook his head. “No. Need you, like I remember.” He looked at Steve with unreserved need, body shifting in the ice water.

“Just me?” Steve knew he could do it if that’s what Bucky wanted.

“Sam, too. Both of you are here, after all,” he pointed to his head. “Should be all three of us.” He leaned back. “I need it.”

“Okay,” Steve said. “Do you need help getting out?”

Bucky nodded and lifted up his left arm so Steve could pull him up from the tub. He was dripping all over the floor, and Steve looked around for a towel. He saw one on the sink ledge, and grabbed it.

“Do you mind if I take off your clothes?”

Bucky shook his head and reached for the hem of his shirt. He stripped off the shirt, and then dropped his pants. Steve waited until he was naked and then began toweling him off carefully. This was a routine he could remember, at least, from the winters he was too sick with pneumonia to be any help to Bucky’s heat except in this way. Bucky’s skin was breaking out in goosebumps and Steve couldn’t resist the urge to trace them with his fingers. Bucky shivered, the scent rolling off him stronger.

“Not getting really wet,” Bucky said, voice quiet as he leaned into Steve. “That’s what used to happen, right?”

Steve didn’t stop tracing his fingers up and down Bucky’s arms, even though Bucky’s question made his stomach seize. His eyes dropped to the scar on his waist, knowing that even if this much had healed there was still a lot of damage. “That’s fine.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat. “You didn’t after the- after I rescued you. We can get around that.”

Bucky nodded. “I remember. I think. I just wanted you to know before you…” he trailed off, shivering.

Steve took the opportunity to ruffle the towel through Bucky’s hair. It wasn’t too wet but he had obviously dunked his head under water.

“I’m gonna get Sam, okay? You can lay down on the bed.”

Bucky took the towel with him as he went into the bedroom. Steve stayed behind to drain the tub and hang the wet clothes up to dry. When he left the bathroom he passed by Bucky, who was curled up on the bed. His right hand was in between his legs, tucked back behind his cock so Steve couldn’t see what exactly he was doing, but he knew. Bucky was playing with himself.

Steve walked to the bed and touched Bucky’s shoulder.

His eyes shot open, and he let out a moan. Steve felt a spike of pleasure shoot through him, run off from Bucky. Bucky clenched his eyes tight, his body shaking as he rocked against his hand.

Steve’s mouth went dry as he dragged his hand down Bucky’s bare skin. Bucky uncurled himself at Steve’s touch, crying out as Steve’s fingertips traced down his chest. He rolled onto his back, spreading his legs. His cock was hard against his stomach, and he looked so much like he had before. He was gorgeous.

He should get Sam, but he couldn’t pull his hand away from Bucky’s body. Not when he looked so needy, hips rolling invitingly for Steve to grasp his cock and sink his own fingers inside him.

“Bucky,” Steve said quietly, his fingers hovering just above his cock.

Bucky whined.

“You should really take care of him, Steve,” Sam said, scaring the hell out of Steve.

Bucky whined louder, body arching as he came from his fingers. His cock spasmed, but didn’t ejaculate much; that wasn’t the purpose of heat.

Steve looked at Sam, who was staring at Bucky slackjawed, bottle of lube in his hand.

He swallowed. “He, uh, he called me?” Sam said dumbly as Bucky’s hips rolled.

“Called you?” Steve asked, just as confused and distracted.

Sam stepped into the bedroom and shut the door. “Yeah. He said he needed some of this, too.” He shook the bottle of lube.

Oh. Bucky had sent him a private message through the Bond.

“Can I?” Sam asked, going to Bucky’s other side when his metal hand crooked to invite him.

Steve finally dropped his hand, wrapping it around Bucky’s cock. He groaned and made a fist with his left hand.

Sam glanced at Steve as he climbed on the bed. “Bucky, gimme your hand. This’ll help.” Steve watched as Sam reached for Bucky’s right wrist, pulling his hand up and away from his body. Bucky arched, legs splaying and Steve sucked a finger in his mouth before filling Bucky back up with it.

He wasn’t dry like Steve had feared, but he was definitely not as soaked as he had been before. Bucky's thighs used to get wet with how much he leaked.

Bucky’s breaths were coming out short now that both of them were here and touching him. Steve was getting strong sensations through the Bond, need and want. He glanced up at Sam to see if he had gotten the lube open.

Sam was sucking on Bucky’s fingers, and it was making Bucky whine and paw at him with his metal hand. Bucky was pulling Sam up the bed, and Sam let Bucky’s right hand drop as he tossed the lube to Steve.

Steve was distracted, one hand on Bucky’s cock, one inside him, and he still needed to grab the lube from where it was laying on the bed next to Bucky’s stomach, all while watching Bucky nuzzle the front of Sam’s pants, obviously needing to get his mouth on Sam’s cock.

Bucky made it easier, using his right hand to grab the lube, opening it one-handed and getting some on his fingers. He reached back down, fingers sliding into his body alongside Steve’s and it was slick again.

The angle wasn’t right though, and Steve moved in between Bucky’s legs right as Sam got impatient and pulled his cock out of his pants.

Steve was transfixed, and Bucky made a happy sound as he mouthed along the shaft of Sam’s cock. Sam let out a loud breath and his hands clenched at his side.

“You can touch him,” Steve whispered, hands still working on Bucky.

Sam shook his head, glancing at Steve for a moment before his eyes shut in pleasure. “Don’t wanna hurt him.”

_**Not. Fragile,**_ Bucky said, no doubt the only way he could talk. He got like that easily while in heat.

Sam reached out and tangled his fingers in Bucky’s hair, forcing his cock into Bucky’s mouth.

Steve felt Bucky clench around his fingers, orgasm rolling through his body.

“Fuck,” Sam said aloud, pulling his hips back before thrusting forward. The angle was probably hell for Bucky’s throat but all Steve was getting from him was euphoric pleasure.

He pulled his hand off of Bucky’s cock, undoing his own jeans. He got as far as pushing them down past his hips before he stopped and got his cock out. He squeezed the base, trying to calm himself, as he reached for the lube. He needed to last more than a few minutes

He pulled his hand out of Bucky’s body, causing Bucky to let out a whine, but it was muffled by Sam’s cock.

_**Don’t worry. I got you, Buck,**_ Steve said, and Bucky’s body went lax.

_**Fuck. Yes,**_ he said, dropping his hand so Steve could line up and slide in.

It was like coming home. He was just as tight and warm as Steve remembered.

A loop started inside his head, pleasure from Bucky and Sam coursing through him as he pulled his hips back and started to fuck Bucky. He was working up a sweat just from staving off his orgasm as long as he had, but Steve held on. He grabbed Bucky by the hips, holding him still as he screwed into him.

Bucky was making muffled moans around Sam’s cock. Steve could see the knot forming at the base of Sam’s cock, and how it was causing him to fuck Bucky’s mouth at a shallower depth.

Steve shut his eyes as he let go of Bucky’s hips to reach for Sam’s hand. He was close. He could feel his own knot forming. It tugged on the pit of his gut as the knot started to swell, making it so he couldn’t pull out anymore. He grabbed Sam’s hand, and their fingers tangled together just as Sam let out a gasp.

Steve forced his eyes open to watch as Sam gripped the base of his cock, pulling out of Bucky’s mouth to come on his face. Bucky’s eyes went wide, mouth hanging open in surprise as come splattered on his cheeks and nose.

His body seized underneath Steve, squeezing tight and Steve fucked all the way into him, locking their bodies together. Bucky moaned, his own cock giving another twitch, a little more come trickling out.

“Shit,” Sam said. He had his thumb in Bucky’s mouth when Steve managed to open his eyes, and Bucky’s face wasn’t covered in come anymore. The implication of that made another wave of pleasure run through him and he came again.

Bucky’s hand rubbed his back as Steve laid his head on Bucky’s chest. If he wanted to he could probably lean up and kiss both of them, get the taste of Sam out of Bucky’s mouth and then give it back to Sam, but he was still shaking through more orgasms.

He knew he’d still be hard when he unknotted, especially since Sam was still hard. Heat did that to an alpha. Steve grinned lazily, reaching out to pull Sam’s hips closer to him so he could kiss his cock.

Sam groaned, his free hand clasping the back of Steve’s head. _**Can’t believe I’m still hard.**_

_**It happens,**_ Bucky said. _**Couple more rounds and we’ll be good.**_

Steve watched as Sam leaned down and kissed Bucky’s mouth, like that could stop him from talking. It was a strange angle, Sam bent over at the waist with Steve’s mouth on his cock, while he kissed Bucky.

_**You’re both gonna kill me,**_ Sam said, as he pulled away from the kiss so he had a better angle to rub his cock against Steve’s lips.

Steve could feel his knot winding down, but he stayed inside Bucky even though he probably could pull out now, not wanting to leave the warmth.

_**You should fuck me first,**_ Bucky said, even as he joined Steve, angling his head so he could lave at Sam’s balls.

“Shit,” Sam cursed, and he pulled his cock away from both of their mouths. Steve opened his eyes, trying to gauge if he should chase after Sam’s cock, but then Sam angled him and Bucky so he could slide his cock between their mouths.

Bucky’s tongue darted out, licking Sam’s dick. Steve followed suit, his hips rolling as he joined Bucky in licking and kissing the side of Sam’s cock. Their tongues touched occasionally, just enough to send a spark through his body.

_**Sam…**_ Bucky whined. _**Want you to fuck me. Need your knot.**_

Sam’s hips stuttered and he pulled back. “Steve needs to get out of you first.”

Steve obliged, though it was agony pulling out of Bucky. He took a moment after he had scootched back to strip naked, and Sam did the same.

_**Hands and knees, lover boy,**_ Sam said once he was naked, but it was more to tell Bucky what he was doing than give an order, because Sam took the initiative to start moving him. 

Steve settled up against the headboard, his cock near Bucky’s mouth. “You want me to knot your mouth?” He asked, stroking Bucky’s face.

Bucky nodded, shifting on his arms so he could rest his hands on Steve’s thighs. The metal of his hand was warm and Steve put his own hand on top of it.

“You can do that?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” Steve said, eyes darting up from the way Bucky was licking his lips to Sam putting lube on his fingers.

_**Used to be the only way sometimes,**_ Bucky said, _**If Steve was too sick to keep up with my heat without passing out we did this.**_ His mouth hovered over the tip of Steve’s cock and he watched, holding his breath.

Bucky remembered. He remembered a lot of things apparently…

"Your come is practically leaking out of him, Steve," Sam said. 

Steve looked up to see Sam's arm moving as he worked his fingers inside Bucky. "Push it back in, then. No good if it's not in him."

Bucky moaned, nuzzling his face into the palm of Steve's hand.

"Kinda wanna put my mouth on him. You left our boy a mess," Sam said, and he was leaning back so he could see what he was doing.

_**Yes, please,**_ Bucky said, sucking one of Steve's fingers into his mouth as a tease for what was to come.

Sam glanced up to catch Steve's eyes and held his gaze while he leaned down, burying his face in between Bucky's legs.

He came with a shout, hips bucking back, dropping Steve's finger as he buried his face in Steve's thigh.

_**He tastes so good,**_ Sam said, moaning out loud.

Steve groaned, his cock unbelievably hard, but he wouldn't do anything about it when he had the promise of Bucky's mouth. "Just wait til you're mixed in there."

Bucky's body shuddered as another wave of orgasm hit him and he let out a sob of pleasure. _**Yes!**_

Sam pulled back, grinning, mouth glistening. Bucky's hips wiggled, and he pulled his head off of Steve's thigh. His face was flushed and he was sweating, but he looked so good. Steve guided his head back so his lips hovered over Steve's cock.

"Still want our knots?" Steve asked, nudging his cock against the seam of Bucky's lips.

Bucky nodded as lust and want and a bit of love hit Steve full force. Steve glanced at Sam, wanting to see his reaction to that non-verbal answer. Sam did not disappoint, eyes wide as he rubbed Bucky's lower back.

"Don't worry, we'll give it to you," Sam said, shifting his hips to get into position.

Steve was still waiting for Bucky to take his cock in his mouth when Sam sank into his body. Bucky keened, but then leaned forward, lips wrapping around Steve’s dick. Seemed he had been waiting for that.

Steve lost himself in the sensation of Bucky’s mouth. It was different from fucking him, because Bucky used tongue and teeth the way he had learned when they had still been boys, and it was deadly. Steve didn’t need to work when Bucky gave him head, just let himself be worshipped.

Sam was cursing behind Bucky, and Steve could feel his wonder and pleasure coming through the Bond.

This time his orgasm came slower, because Bucky moved slower, probably matching the thrusts of Sam’s hips with each stroke of his mouth.

It was okay.

Steve closed his eyes, feelings his balls tighten up, his knot starting to swell again. Recovery time during heats had always been intense, but now, combined with the serum, it was ridiculous. Bucky swallowed around his cock, pulling him as deep as possible so his knot had room to grow inside his mouth. Bucky’s cheeks bulged a little, and Steve felt his cock slip down into Bucky’s throat, but muscle memory was a beautiful thing as Bucky breathed through it, swallowing Steve’s come.

Sam stilled behind Bucky, groaning as he no doubt knotted as well. Steve couldn’t look up at him though, transfixed on Bucky’s face as he kept swallowing. He wouldn’t be able to open his mouth wide enough to get his teeth back over the knot, but considering the feelings he was sending he didn’t mind.

“Doing better?” Sam asked, stroking Bucky’s back.

Bucky shuddered, eyes closing as another orgasm wracked through him, and Steve grinned. “Oh, I’m great. How’s he feel?”

“Amazing,” Sam said, screwing his hips down against Bucky’s ass. “Perfect.”

Bucky hummed, causing Steve’s dick to twitch in his mouth, another gush of come spurting out.

Steve stroked Bucky’s cheeks. “You should knot his mouth next time. Or later. Trust me.”

Sam ducked his head and rested in between Bucky’s shoulder blades so Steve could touch him. “Gonna be the fucking death of me.”

It was gonna be a long night, but Steve was sure they could get through it.


	12. Chapter 12

Bucky wasn’t in bed when Steve woke up. Sam was, though, arm thrown over a pillow that Bucky must have pushed towards him, because Steve definitely remembered falling asleep with Bucky tucked between the two of them. He carefully got out of bed, trying not to wake Sam, and went on a search for Bucky.

He could feel that Bucky was awake, and he followed the thread in his mind to the kitchen, where he found Bucky sitting in his boxers going through someone's laptop. Probably Tony's. 

“Hey, I didn’t expect you to be up,” Steve said, taking a seat next to Bucky.

He didn’t look up from what he was reading, even when Steve put his hand on his wrist. His skin was no longer hot with fever, so the heat had been quick. “I need about as much sleep as you do,” he finally said, turning the computer towards Steve so he could see what Bucky was reading.

It looked like medical files, but they were all written in a mix of German and Russian. Tony’s translation program had English hovering over the words, and if Steve focused he could read those. “Tony finished going through everything?”

“Guess so,” Bucky said, turning the laptop back to him. “These were on the screen when I opened it. Didn’t know what exactly I wanted to look at.”

“How are you feeling?” Steve asked.

“Jumbled. Usually I use my downtime to sort through everything I remember, but there hasn’t been any.”

“And there probably won’t be for a little while,” Steve finished for him.

Bucky nodded. “I’m hoping these will jog something. I knew I was stuck in a loop – wake up, go on missions, get put back to sleep – but I couldn’t figure out how to break it.”

Bucky definitely sounded more coherent than he did yesterday. It was probably the lack of heat. “What do you remember?”

“Seems like a lot, but at the same time nothing.” Bucky chewed on the edge of his thumb, eyes still flicking over the screen. “I remember everything from this go around. And I think I remember flashes from others, ‘cause I remember being in planes, but with different people. Rumlow some of the time, but others, too. At some point it stops being English, but then it goes back to English. And I think that’s from before.”

“You mentioned remembering the Commandos, your old unit,” Steve said carefully.

Bucky leaned back in his chair, blowing out a breath. “Yeah. That’s what we were called, wasn’t it? I remember feelings mostly, with the older stuff. Not actual memories.” He glanced at Steve, and then pointed to his temple. “Sam feels like he belongs in here.”

Steve grinned. “Yeah. Yeah, he does.” He didn’t apologize for moving on, because he wasn’t sorry. But he would have if Bucky didn’t seem so receptive to it. That’s how the Bond worked, though; Steve kept telling himself that. The Bond with Sam wouldn’t have formed if all three of them weren't compatible.

“Man, you two know how to make a guy feel special,” Sam said, coming into the kitchen in the jeans he had been wearing yesterday, and nothing else. “We have all that crazy sex, break Iron Man's bed, and you two are _still_ up at the crack of dawn.” He walked over to Bucky, tipping his head back so he could kiss him.

“Super soldier serum,” Steve said, laughing as Sam rolled his eyes before kissing him.

“Still makes me, a mere mortal, feel distinctly unaccomplished.” He took the final seat at the table, across from Bucky. “So what do we got?”

Steve pulled out his cellphone to see if Natasha or Fury had tried to get in contact with him, but there were no missed notifications. “Nothing. We’re waiting for Nat, Fury, or Tony to update us.”

“I hate waiting,” Bucky said, tapping away at the laptop. “I say we break into S.H.I.E.L.D. and do some recon.”

Steve sighed and looked at Sam, who was shaking his head. “That’s a horrible idea.”

“Better than sitting here looking at nothing,” Bucky muttered.

Steve didn’t mention that Bucky used to be a lot more patient, because maybe that part of him was gone. And if so, Steve would need to accept that. He couldn’t compare this Bucky to the one he had lost.

“How would we break into S.H.I.E.L.D., exactly?” Sam asked.

“Same way I broke out to hang out with you two."

There was a sharp rap on the front door, and all three of them froze. Sam was the one to stand, taking the gun Bucky had left on the table. Steve stayed still in the kitchen, calculating how he could get to his shield while he saw Bucky glancing around, casing the exits.

He heard Sam open the door, and then Natasha’s quiet voice. He immediately relaxed, standing up to go greet her.

She was covered in dirt and dust, and Fury was missing. That was the first thing Steve noticed.

“What happened?” He asked.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. Just… fucking S.H.I.E.L.D.,” she said, brushing past Sam to enter the house.

“Where’s Fury?”

“With Agent Hill, getting medical attention. She picked us up about thirty miles outside the base.” Natasha was shaken, and that worried Steve. He’d never seen her like this.

“Go clean up, then brief us.”

Natasha nodded.

“Bathroom’s through this way. I can get you a towel,” Sam said, walking her to the bathroom, probably just as aware as Steve about the fact that she looked exhausted. Steve wondered if she had gotten any sleep.

Bucky watched from the kitchen, and he nodded when Natasha passed by him. He looked back to Sam and Steve and then down to his boxers. “I should probably get changed.”

Sam laughed. “Yeah. Hard to plot anything in our underwear.”

That pulled a laugh out of Bucky. “Wouldn’t be the first time. Remember that one fucking impossibly hot week during the summer when Jim refused to put on clothes if he didn’t absolutely have to?” Steve stared at Bucky, and watched as his face fell. “Sorry. I don’t know where that came from.”

“No!” Steve said. “No, I remember that—“

Bucky cut him off. “Normally when something comes back to me I keep it quiet, but I wanted—“

“It’s fine! It’s fine, Buck. I just wasn’t expecting it. And I remember that. It was a very eye-opening week for me.”

Bucky relaxed, turning to head back into the room. “I think it was an eye-opening week for everyone.”

“I don’t even want to know, but I completely sympathize,” Sam said, patting Steve on the shoulder. “I’m going to make breakfast.”

“I don’t know what Tony has here.”

“Neither do I, but I can guarantee that if there’s anything I can make _something_.”

Steve followed Sam into the kitchen and watched as he looked through the cupboards, finding a box of instant oatmeal. By the time Bucky and Natasha had joined them there were four bowls of oatmeal made up.

“So what happened?” Steve asked, once he, Sam, and Natasha were seated around the table while Bucky leaned against the kitchen counter because there wasn’t another chair.

Natasha didn't touch her oatmeal. “S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated by HYDRA.”

Steve dropped his spoon.

“What?” Bucky asked.

“We found Armin Zola at the base, Steve. He had uploaded his brain to a computer there. Apparently after the war he had been recruited, and continued HYDRA’s activities from inside S.H.I.E.L.D., as S.T.R.I.K.E.”

“Why the hell would S.H.I.E.L.D. have recruited Zola?” Bucky demanded, and then his eyes went wide and he covered his face with the hand not holding his bowl of oatmeal. “That motherfucker.”

“It was a common practice after the war, hiring skilled people if they promised to defect,” Natasha said.

“It’s fucking stupid,” Bucky growled. “That bastard found me in the Alps. He’s the one who built this for me; the first one.” He gestured with his arm. “And S.H.I.E.L.D. just fucking let him.”

“It looks like anyone who was inside S.H.I.E.L.D. and wasn’t HYDRA had no idea. Fury didn’t know.”

“It’s why his files didn’t change. He didn’t get traded after the war, they just used that as a way to get him into the States,” Sam said. "HYDRA's had him since the beginning.”

Bucky had turned his back on them to lean over the sink. Steve had a moment of worry that he was actually going to throw up in the sink. When that didn’t happen Steve turned back to Natasha.

“So we need to take down HYDRA. Shouldn’t be too hard. I’ve done it before.” He tried to smile when he said it, but it rang hollow.

“You’re awfully chipper for someone who just found out he died for nothing,” Natasha said. Steve side-eyed her, and when he made eye contact with her she glanced at Bucky, who had his arms crossed over his chest. Natasha blew out a breath. “It’s a bit more than that. There’s also the problem with Project Insight. Fury has a plan. We’re going to rendezvous with him and go over it.”

Steve heard the key in the door before anyone else, except possibly Bucky, but since he didn’t tense up Steve couldn’t be sure.

“Honey! I’m home!”

Steve pushed back his seat, holding up a hand at Bucky and Sam, who both had gone still. “Tony?” He walked into the living room, where, Tony and Bruce were, surrounded by four suitcases and their daughter. “What are you doing here?” His eyes dropped to the little girl – Grace, Tony had called her. “You should not have brought her.”

“Cap, from what I read in those files last night there was no way I _wasn’t_ bringing her.” Tony’s voice was calm, but his fingers were shaking. “You know, I grew up hearing stories about how you took down HYDRA, real Hollywood stuff, and even though I knew my old man was full of hot air, I always believed him when he said that they were gone.”

“Tony,” Steve said, realizing what Tony had found in the files, and probably read up on everything Natasha and Fury had found last night.

“Also, I brought gifts.” Tony changed topics rapidly, gesturing to the suitcases. “I was up all night making those, so you better like them.”

“If not for that we would have been here twelve hours ago,” Bruce said, picking up Grace and moving her to the sofa.

“And that probably would have alerted the goons who were trying to tail us. I thought for the longest time they were just paps, but now that I know…” Tony trailed off. “I took care of them, though.” The whole time he was talking he was bustling around the living room, plugging a flash drive into something in the fireplace. “Hey J, you up?”

“Coming online, Sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S.’ voice filled the whole house, and Steve glanced back to make sure Bucky was okay.

“You have J.A.R.V.I.S. wired here?” Natasha asked. “Impressive.”

“I made it so he could be installed anywhere after what happened to my house in Malibu.” Steve remembered that. He had been on a mission overseas and hadn’t heard about it until he got back, and by that point Tony had already taken care of it. “Oh, and congratulations are in order, I hear,” Tony said.

“For what?” Steve asked.

“Most wanted man in America. Well, according to S.H.I.E.L.D.-HYDRA. It hasn’t made the news yet, but I’m sure it’s coming.” Tony pulled up a report from S.H.I.E.L.D. seemingly out of nowhere, and Steve could only guess the holoprojectors he had seen in Stark Tower were also installed in the house. The report definitely had Steve’s picture. “And look, your boyfriend got a special mention.” Tony swiped and then Sam’s picture was in the living room.

“Son of a bitch,” Sam muttered, and Tony snapped his fingers.

“Watch your language or you don’t get any toys.”

Sam looked over at Grace, who had been laid out on the floor next to Bruce. “Sorry. But I mean, do they have my picture up on the news?”

“Not yet,” Steve said.

“This is an internal message for S.H.I.E.L.D.-HYDRA personnel.”

“Well, small miracles, I guess. Fielding calls from my folks while I’m on the run would not be fun.”

“Where’s my picture?” Natasha asked.

“I’m glad you asked!” Tony said, and swiped his finger again. “And that makes three. You and Cap have kill-on-sight orders. Falcon over there - can I call you Falcon? I’m gonna call you Falcon, it’s a good code name – just has a capture alive order.”

“Well, that’s something,” Steve said. “And Bucky?”

“No mention of Mr. Barnes. I would assume it’s a kill order, but can’t be sure. Apparently this isn’t the first time he’s gone off the grid after a mission. There was one time in the 60’s in Dallas, another in ’91 in upstate New York…” Tony trailed off for a moment, and Steve wondered what he was thinking about. He shook his head and continued. “They tend to track him down and wipe him again. Might be the same this time around.”

Steve glanced back at Bucky, who was hovering at the kitchen door. “That’s not gonna happen this time.”

“So are we gonna have Iron Man on this one?” Sam asked, walking over to the suitcases, tapping one with his foot.

“Ah-,” Tony said right as Bruce cut him off with a decisive, “No.” Steve watched as Tony and Bruce looked at one another, and then Bruce’s eyes darted down to Tony’s stomach and back up.

Oh. It was like that.

Steve had forgotten what it was like to watch another set of Bonded people speak to one another.

Tony released a sigh. “I’m grounded, unfortunately. No suit. I’ll run interference for you guys. And Brucie here is gonna stay with us in case we get found.”

“Unless you absolutely need me,” Bruce said, even as he took a seat next to Grace and pulled her into his lap.

“I think we’ll be fine,” Steve said. “Especially if you brought new gear.”

Tony clapped his hands. “Yes, exactly.” He opened the first suitcase, pulling out uniforms. “I had to use the measurements Dad had on our buddy James Barnes, but I figured they probably didn’t change that much.”

Bucky took a step into the living room. “I have my own.”

“No, you don’t,” Sam reminded him. “We left that back at the house.”

“For the best, those were probably bugged to hell. Yours, too, Cap,” Tony said, tossing a uniform towards him. The fact that his uniform was bugged left him unfazed since he didn't have it with him anyway.

It was black, and a lighter weight than Steve’s S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform had been, with a bit more stretch. But Steve trusted that it could protect him just as well as his old uniform, if not more so.

“And then for Mr. New Guy, I recreated this. Made a few upgrades from the original model – which I didn’t actually remember making, but hey, my logo was on it so it probably passed through my hands at some point,” Tony said as he went to the next suitcase and pulled out a jetpack.

Sam grinned. “Oh, hell yeah,” he said, taking the wings from Tony’s hands gingerly. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m serious. Don’t mention it. But also don’t ask for anything for Christmas. This is it!” Tony said as he went to the next suitcase and opened it to expose an arsenal of weapons. “And when Pepper finds out about this box she’s going to kill me for making weapons around Grace, so if we could keep this between the eight of us that would be swell.”

Steve narrowed his eyes, counting everyone off, and realized Tony was including his daughter and J.A.R.V.I.S. His eyes fell on the little girl, who had started building something (possibly a dinosaur?) with large connecting blocks. She was absorbed in her work, a lot like Tony seemed to get, and Steve was pretty sure that even if she understood what was going on, she wasn’t paying attention. Again, just like Tony.

“Thanks, Tony,” Steve said as Tony stepped away from the suitcases so Natasha and Bucky could look through the guns he had brought.

“Don’t mention it.” He handed Steve an earpiece. “This connects directly to J.A.R.V.I.S. Give one to Fury and Hill, too.”

“I will.”

Fury had made base underneath a dam, which, when Steve thought about it, was completely unsurprising. They followed Natasha through the tunnels until they emerged in a room where Fury and Hill were hunched over a table, looking at plans.

Fury looked up, nodding to them. “Glad you could join us, Cap.” His eyes narrowed. “Nice suit.”

“Stark showed up this morning. He also wanted me to give these to you,” Steve said, handing Fury the earpiece, and then handing one to Maria. “I’m assuming they’re secure.”

“Of course they’re secure. I made them,” Tony’s voice came in loud and clear in Steve’s ear.

Fury rolled his eye. “And what help do you expect to be?”

“I’ll be running this whole operation from the house. I have Bruce here, too, just in case you were worried.”

“I wasn’t,” Fury said.

“Sooooo, Natasha says you have a big plan. Care to let us in? Cause I have some intel you might want to know about,” Tony asked, when he seemed to realize no one was saying anything else.

“If it’s about the fact that they are launching the project today, I already know,” Fury said, looking annoyed.

Tony let out a sigh. “There goes my big surprise for you.”

Fury looked at Steve. “For those of us who didn’t read all of the files, Zola tampered with the launch code on the Lemurian Star for Project Insight,” Fury said. “He put in his own algorithm, one that targeted anyone deemed a threat to HYDRA. That would be you,” Fury nodded to Steve, “Bruce more than likely, probably Tony, too.”

“Of course they are,” Natasha said.

“We need to stop the launch,” Steve said, mind already racing to think of how he could take down three helicarriers. He might need to call in Bruce after all.

“Why even risk them getting in the air?” Bucky asked. “Let’s just break into the hanger beforehand and destroy them.”

“No can do, Bucky Bear.”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

Tony didn’t answer, steamrolling ahead.

_**It was a thing in the 50s, and 60s, and then the early 90s. Steve and I can show you after.**_ Sam said.

“…So the short answer is Fury’s death means jack all to S.H.I.E.L.D.-HYDRA and the way they are memorializing him is with a preemptive launch of Project Insight. And by preemptive I mean in about three hours.”

“Great,” Bucky said.

Fury sighed like he was being inconvenienced by the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D., and opened one of the cases on the table, revealing three microchips.

“What’s that?” Bucky asked, the first he had spoken since they left the house.

“Once the helicarriers reach 3000 feet they’ll triangulate, with Insight Satellites becoming fully weaponized,” Maria said, pulling up schematics on her computer.

“We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own,” Fury said.

“One or two won’t cut it. We need to link all three for this to be successful, because if even one of those ships is still operational, a whole lot of people are gonna die,” Maria finished.

“Why don’t we just take down the ships ourselves, then?” Bucky asked. “It’s not like it would be hard. Steve and I could probably do it solo, and if we have Sam and Natasha it’ll be like child’s play.”

Fury tilted his head to the side, and cut a look at Steve, obviously assuming he was the more sane of the two, before looking back at Bucky. “Because, Rambo, we are attacking this on all fronts. Natasha is going on her own mission to help me capture Pierce.”

“We’re not capturing Pierce,” Bucky snapped. Steve held out a hand to stop Bucky from launching forward. “He’s dead, and so is every single HYDRA member. I've been planning to burn that place to the ground, but I’ll settle for crashing those carriers right into the fucking building.”

Fury gave Steve a significant look. “Control your pet, Cap. This is no time to be emotional.”

Steve dropped his hand, and Bucky growled, turning on his heel to stand behind Sam, as if that would stop him from going off the handle. “Bucky’s right. The whole thing needs to go.”

“There are parts of S.H.I.E.L.D. that can be salvaged-“

“S.H.I.E.L.D.’s been compromised, you’ve said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and you never even noticed.”

“Why do you think we’re meeting in this cave? I noticed.”

Steve shook his head. “Not soon enough.” He watched Fury’s face as it slowly crumbled into acceptance. “S.H.I.E.L.D. HYDRA. It all goes.”

“He’s right,” Maria said, from Fury’s side. He glanced at her, and then Natasha, who leaned back and nodded.

“Don’t even look at me,” Sam said. “I’m always gonna be on their side.”

“Are we picking sides?” Tony’s voice cut in. “I pick the side that is most likely to end up winning.”

Fury sighed and leaned back, looking at Steve. “Well, it looks like you’re giving the orders now, Captain.”


	13. Chapter 13

__  
**Have I ever mentioned that I hate marching?**  
Sam asked.

Steve grinned as they made their way closer to the Triskelion. They were following Maria, who had a way to get them in through the back, hopefully undetected. The comms had gone silent, with Tony not due to give them any updates on the security rotation shift until they were closer.

_**You would have hated the war,**_ Bucky said, and it still surprised Steve every time he heard Bucky's voice again. He wasn’t wearing his mask, which made him vulnerable. S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, and therefore HYDRA, wouldn’t recognize him as the Winter Soldier, but he had refused to put even the goggles on, preferring to go bare-faced. _**Our captain made us walk fifty miles a day.**_

_**Uh huh… Uphill both ways?** _

_**How’d you know?**_ He sounded almost giddy, and it warmed Steve’s heart.

“You sure you want to announce yourself to them, Cap?” Maria asked.

“Don’t you know?” Tony’s voice came in. “Rogers here loves making a scene.”

"I'm just saying, HYDRA doesn't know for sure that Barnes is compromised. We could use him to get in and-"

"They know, ma'am," Bucky said, interrupting her.

"Since when?" Sam asked.

"Probably since I told Rumlow when we left the Lemurian Star that next time I grabbed his throat I'd make sure to finish the job."

Steve blinked. "Is that what you said to him? Bucky! That was incredibly..." he trailed off at the look Bucky was giving him. He sighed and switched back to answering Maria's question. “Not everyone who works for S.H.I.E.L.D. is HYDRA, and even though S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to be taken down there are innocent people in there. People who can make a choice to do the right thing. I need to give them that choice.”

Maria made a face. “That is incredibly noble.” The way she said it was the way a lot of people said it, half disbelieving, and half sounding like she thought she was a bad person for not thinking the same way.

Steve was used to it, and he just kept moving forward until they reached the door to get in. From there Maria cut the security cameras, something she assured them would open up another door so they could gain access to one of the control rooms. Steve didn’t feel as bad when the guy who opened the door immediately stepped back, raising his arms in surrender.

Steve nodded to him, and the four of them walked straight into the control room where Maria would run the operation from. The speakers all throughout the Triskelion were talking about the launch, which just solidified that it was actually happening. HYDRA wouldn't be trying to hide anymore, with Project Insight launched they would finally have the control they wanted, which made this mission much more dangerous.

Maria set about plugging Tony in so he had access as well, while Steve took hold of the speaker. Bucky stood guard at the door while Sam stayed at Steve’s back.

He took a breath and pressed the intercom. “Attention all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. This is Steve Rogers. You’ve heard a lot about me over the last few hours. Some of you may even have seen orders to hunt me down. But I think it’s time you know the truth.” This was the moment of truth. He glanced at Bucky, and then at Sam before going back to the microphone. 

“S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It’s been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The S.T.R.I.K.E. and Insight crews are HYDRA as well. I don’t know how many more, but I know they’re in the building. They could be standing right next to you.” He hoped this wouldn’t cause a panic, and instead would just make the agents more vigilant. No doubt the HYDRA agents would probably become irrational and trigger happy trying to keep the launch on schedule. He needed the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to be prepared. “They almost have what they want. Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury. And it won’t end there. 

“If you launch those helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way. Unless we stop them. I know I’m asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, then so be it.” He could feel all three pairs of eyes on him. “But I’m willing to bet I’m not.” He clicked off the intercom.

“Did you write that down first? Or was it off the top of your head?” Sam asked.

Bucky snorted. “He wrote that. I swear I remember parts of it from before.”

Steve sighed, standing up. He figured if he refused to acknowledge them maybe they would stop making jokes and take the mission seriously.

The run to the roof was made clear by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents – actual S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Everyone they met had their guns drawn, ready to check corners for the three of them. Steve made sure to nod his thanks to each agent who helped them, noting their faces so he could hopefully do something for them later.

The roof was chaos. Fighter jets were getting ready to take off, and people were shouting orders.

_**How are we gonna know the good guys from the bad?**_ Sam asked as they split up, heading in the direction of each of their helicarriers.

_**The bad guys will probably be shooting at us,**_ Bucky said.

“Heads up, Cap, some of the air support is for you,” Tony said over the earpiece.

Steve risked a glance at the planes taking off right before he heard gun shots.

“You got your eyes and ears on everything, Stark?” Sam asked, as Steve saw him take off.

Steve focused on his own mission then, trusting Sam and Bucky to be safe in their own jobs. It was the only way this, _the three of them fighting together_ , was going to work.

_**Sam, wanna give me a lift?**_ Steve asked as he cleared the deck of HYDRA agents.

_**Gimme a minute. I found those bad guys you were talking about.**_ Sam said, and Steve looked up where he heard gunfire.

Three jets were chasing Sam.

Steve watched, helpless on the ground, as Sam twisted midflight, turning 90 degrees and flying upward faster than two of the jets could compensate for.

They ran into each other, exploding midair.

The third plane kept a lock on Sam though, and Steve was trying to figure out the angle to throw his shield at to take down the jet when Bucky said, _**Sam, I’m on your six. Veer left.**_

Steve’s eyes darted to the jet coming up behind Sam, and he narrowed his eyes. Bucky was in the cockpit, in front of another pilot.

_**When did you learn to fly a plane?**_ Steve asked as Sam veered and Bucky shot down the third jet.

_**No clue. Sam, you okay to get Steve?** _

_**Yeah. Thanks, Bucky.**_ Sam swooped down and Steve raised his hand so Sam could grab it. _**You good?**_ Sam asked.

_**Right as rain.** _

Sam dropped him off on the helicarrier’s outer wing, right by a door he could use to get into the ship. He didn’t meet anyone on his way to the console, and he slipped the targeting blade into the slot.

“Alfa targeting blade loaded,” he said to the team.

“Good work, Cap. I’ll have a plane fly around to get you,” Tony said. “We got a status on Bravo and Charlie?”

Steve waited anxiously to hear an update from Sam and Bucky. He couldn’t feel anything from them aside from the blanket love that flowed through the Bond, but he knew not to trust that during a mission.

“Charlie complete,” Bucky’s voice came through. “Catching a ride back to the hanger to find S.T.R.I.K.E. Team.”

“Copy that, Barnes,” Maria said. “I’ll give you the location once you get back to the Triskelion. Wilson, you got an update?”

Steve spotted the plane coming his way, and he ran to catch it, still waiting for Sam’s response. It came right as Steve climbed into the plane, nodding to the pilot as he got behind him.

“Bravo complete. Meeting up with Barnes at the hanger.”

Steve closed his eyes, relieved, and when he opened them he was looking down the barrel of a gun, the pilot looking back at him.

“Shit!” He cursed as he tried to duck.

The first bullet missed.

The second caught him in the shoulder.

“Stark!” He called, as he kicked the pilot’s seat. It startled him, and stopped him from firing a third time. “Your ride is hostile!”

“What ride? Did I tell you the ride was ready yet? No. Don’t get in planes with strangers, Steven!”

Steve grabbed for the gun as another shot went off, cracking the window. _**Sam! Need you!**_ He felt the plane start to twist, and he counted down until he could push himself out of the plane. _**Sam!**_

_**I see you!** _

Steve pushed himself back, punching through the window with his shield, making sure to pull the HYDRA agent out with him.

They both fell.

“Rogers!” Maria screamed over the headset.

Steve couldn’t focus on much as he fell, not even the pain his right shoulder. He didn’t see Sam coming, but he felt himself pull up as Sam grabbed his left arm (thank god).

_**I got him,**_ Sam said, presumably to Bucky.

_**Thank fuck. How hurt is he?** _

Steve groaned as he grabbed Sam’s wrist. _**Right shoulder. Got shot. I’ll be fine.**_

_**Uh huh, tell that to my own shoulder,**_ Sam said.

Steve lifted his injured arm up, wincing. He saw that Sam’s own right arm was hanging limp at his side, and he could only guess it was the pain transfer through the Bond. He managed to get both hands on Sam’s wrist so he felt more secure until they landed.

Bucky was waiting on the empty roof, rubbing his own right shoulder. Steve noted all the bodies lying around. He wondered how many were friends, and how many were HYDRA.

“We’re out,” Steve said to Maria, while telling Sam and Bucky, _**Sorry about getting shot.**_

_**No, you’re not,**_ Bucky said, but he was grinning faintly.

“Excellent. Two minutes until they're engaged. Wanna watch the fireworks, boys?”

Bucky snorted and headed to the door. “Where is Runlow?”

“Floor 55. Coming right for you.”

“Great.”

“Tony, what’s our status?” Steve asked as he and Sam followed Bucky to offer backup. However, if Natasha needed anything they would head up there.

“Still radio silence, but Nat is done dumping the info, and I’m uploading it to the web - Ha! World wide trending, I am so good – lemme get a security camera feed – yeah, they're fine!”

“And Pierce?”

“Alive… buuuuut looks like not for much longer.”

Steve didn’t get a thrill when he heard someone had died, even HYDRA members.

“Pierce is down,” Tony reported. “Nat and Fury are making a run for it. I’ll tell them to give you fifteen.”

Bucky turned a corner, and Steve and Sam only caught up to him because he'd pulled up short. In the hallway in front of them was Rumlow and his team, guns pointed at Bucky.

Steve's eyes darted to the walls, measuring the angle he would need to take them all out. Sam was tense at his back, gun in hand and he'd need to move so Steve could throw his shield.

"Well, well," Rumlow said, grinning. "Look what we-"

Headshot.

Steve didn't wince at the loud bang Bucky's gun made, but his ears were ringing. Four more shots fired, dropping all four members of Rumlow's team. Bucky walked up to Rumlow and emptied the last two bullets into his chest.

Rumlow’s dead body jerked from the impact of the bullets.

“We good?” Sam asked quietly.

Bucky holstered the gun, nodding. “We’re good.”

They evacuated the building right as the carriers finished firing on each other.

Steve took inventory of everyone. Besides him and Nat, who had shocked herself with the Widow Bites, no one had been injured.

“We heading back to base?” Sam asked.

“My cave has already been dismantled,” Fury said.

“I wasn’t talking about the cave. I meant Stark’s safehouse.”

“Of course you did,” Fury said. “Lead the way, I guess.”

They probably made a sight, the six of them trekking to the van Fury had stashed away in the Triskelion's basement. Maria took the driver’s seat, and when they pulled up outside Tony’s house she opted to stay in the car, “to get in contact with some of our other agents in the field,” she said.

Tony and Bruce were laying on the floor when they got to the house, building blocks spread out around them. They were helping Grace build what looked like the Iron Man suit, even if it was blue and pink, and more rectangular.

“If it isn’t the heroes of the hour,” Tony said, nodding to the TV, which was playing back the events on a breaking news segment.

“God…Darnnit,” Sam said as his face showed on screen, albeit with the goggles. “The pops are gonna _kill_ me.” He covered his face with his hand. “I don’t even want to look at my phone.”

Bruce smiled, as he lifted up one block for Grace to examine. “That’s not even the best one. There's footage of you dodging those two planes that crashed into each other. And then the one where you catch Steve from mid-air.”

Bucky’s eyes were riveted on the television, and Steve nudged him gently in the shoulder, reaching down to hold his hand. _**You alright?**_

_**Can’t believe it’s over.** _

Steve didn’t want to tell him that it was never over; he knew that’s not what Bucky meant.

“Clint. I should…” Natasha said, trying to not wobble on her feet as she took a step forward away from Fury, who was holding her up.

“Already handled,” Tony said as he stood up. “Lucky for you, Rhodey was in Kiev this morning for some military function. He called an hour ago saying he had Barton. They’re on a flight to London right now. You might want to call that omega of yours, let her know to expect him.”

Natasha’s eyes were wide. “Tony…”

“Don’t mention it. Seriously – don’t. Feelings make me...feel.”

Natasha nodded, and took a step forward. She wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulder. “Thank you.” Tony didn’t shrug her off, letting the hug last until Natasha stepped away. “I call first shower.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony muttered, and then he looked at Fury. “I did try and extract more agents. Barton is just the first I heard about. You’re all welcome to stay here for as long as you need. Pepper is flying in tomorrow, though, and Rhodey will be here in about four hours if he uses the armor like I think he’s going to.”

“If my house is safe the three of us will get out of your hair as soon as we debrief,” Sam said.

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you haven’t taken off your pack.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “You want it back?”

“To run diagnostics and upgrade it according to actual fighting. How’s the arm by the way, Bucky Bear?”

“Fine.”

“That can wait, then.” Tony held out his hand for the pack, which Sam turned over. “Great. Hey, Grace, ready to help mama take something apart?” She let out a shriek of delight and abandoned the dolls she had started playing with to run to Tony’s side. “Ah! Ah! What’s the rule?”

“No mouth!” She said seriously, eyes riveted on the pack.

“That’s my girl.” He picked her up in his empty arm and took her back to the couch where he began to open the pack.

Steve shook his head, turning away from Tony and his family. Fury was watching them, too.

“Is there anything you need, sir?”

Fury laughed. “Well, we did blow this whole operation out of the sky. It’s gonna be a lot of work to fix it. I like the idea of being dead, though. It’ll make it easier when I'm tracking down HYDRA.” He looked Steve up and down. “I could use your help.”

Bucky laughed. “Seventy years and it’s the same mission.”

“Cut off the head…” Steve said.

“What about fire? Not much left of them to come back if they’re ash.”

Fury shook his head at Bucky, like he couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. “Go home, Cap. We’ll be in contact.”

“I’m sure.” He shook Fury’s hand, and then turned to Bucky and Sam. “Let’s go home.”


	14. Chapter 14

The terrain was racing by quickly as Steve looked out the window of the StarkJet he was in. Behind him Bucky, Sam, and Clint were gearing up with parachutes and weapons: bow and arrow for Clint, and an assortment of guns for Bucky and Sam. The four of them had formed a pretty cohesive unit in the past year after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. since Tony was just getting back on his feet after the birth of his second kid, Bruce didn’t think his skillset brought anything to these missions, and Natasha was probably going to be tied up forever in Washington’s bureaucracy. So the four of them had been the ones who went on a hunt for HYDRA, though sometimes they had the helped of Maria, Rhodey, or Fury.

It did wonders for team building.

“Remind me again why we let him jump out of planes without a parachute?” Sam asked Bucky.

“Because he’s going to do something stupid anyway, and if we can control his impulses even just a little, that’s enough,” Bucky answered.

Steve tried not to pay attention to them because their bickering was childish and definitely not suited for a mission. He checked that his shield was strapped on correctly, but he couldn’t resist adding his own childish comment. “The only reason Bucky isn’t doing it is because,” his eyes darted down to Bucky’s stomach, which was finally starting to show. This would be the last mission that he was allowed to actively go on until the kid was born, and Steve was pretty sure that after a year of hunting down HYDRA Bucky had almost gotten it out of his system.

“Inaccurate,” Bucky said. “I always wear a parachute because I, unlike you, do not have a death wish.”

“You didn’t wear one in Paris,” Steve said, looking at Sam for back up, but he was being unhelpful and holding up his hands to show he wasn’t picking sides.

“I was only jumping from the Eiffel Tower, and it wasn’t even the top.”

“You were three months pregnant!”

“And now I’m almost six. It obviously didn’t hurt anything.”

“Hey, if I could jump out without a parachute and not break my legs I totally would,” Clint said helpfully, as he took up his spot beside them.

“You are not helping this conversation,” Steve said. “Either side.”

“Buddy, listening to the three of you squabble like an old married triad is the highlight of these missions for me. I will do whatever I can to keep it going,” Clint said.

“Boys, we’re almost at the drop zone,” Maria’s voice came over the speakers. Steve was glad Tony let her go on these missions when she wasn’t swamped with work at Stark Industries, especially since Natasha seemed like she would be forever tied up in Washington’s bureaucracy.

“Any final words, gentlemen?” Clint asked as he looked over the edge of the door.

“Darcy hates your scar,” Sam said, grinning.

Clint gave him a horrified look. “She says it’s manly.”

“She told me every time she sees it, she wants to kick Hitler in the head.”

“That’s a new one,” Steve said. “It’s a lot more effective to punch him. You know, since I’ve done it over a hundred times.”

“Do you always have to bring that up?” Sam asked, teasingly. “We get it, you’ve punched Hitler.”

Clint made a face. “See, that is completely different from hating the scar.” The scar he was referring to was the one he had from the mission Rhodey had extracted him from. Turned out Tony had been lying _just a little_ , and Clint's cover had been blown. Rhodey found him before they had finished the job, but the long scar that went from Clint’s navel to his sternum was a reminder of what had almost happened.

That had been a dark day at Stark Tower, Steve had heard.

_**You gonna be okay, Bucky?**_ Sam asked.

_**I’m pregnant, not invalid. Steve’s the one you should be asking. He is aware this isn’t water, right?** _

“There’s a lake right down there that leads into their underwater entrance. Just gotta time the jump perfectly,” Steve said, watching the lake rapidly approach.

“Fucking underwater entrances. What is this, James Bond?” Clint asked.

“All clear to go!” Maria ordered. “You have a 20 second window if you want to make that lake, Cap.”

Steve shared quick eye contact with Sam and Bucky before he took a step closer to the edge of the plane. He no longer felt alone, the Bond coursing through his whole body. They were all going to be okay.

The four of them jumped.

~Fin


End file.
